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In the final episode of our three-part series on presenting arguments, Jim convenes the meeting to get a final recommendation on the outsourcing project to present to the board.
Jack has had to put together a proposal, which he must summarize for the manager's meeting.
He must persuade the managers to proceed and must answer the objections voiced at the last meeting.
Key concepts are making coherent, persuasive arguments and effective use of language to support your points.
Unless there's any more questions on the agenda, we'll now hand over the floor to Jack, who will be presenting the Costa Rica proposal.
Thank you, Jim.
As we all recall, last month we decided to make a decision on this project at this meeting.
And, in preparation for this meeting, I have completed a comprehensive study proposal outlining why we should proceed with this.
Let's start with the background.
First, we will suffer significant losses again this year, as we have for the last three years.
Our production costs, although competitive with other US manufacturers, are still much higher than those of foreign competitors.
For example, it costs us twice as much to make a standard guitar as it does the average foreign producer.
They are winning worldwide market share because of their pricing advantage, while we are losing it.
So if we don't become a foreign producer, we will no longer be a producer.
Second, we have accomplished an extremely thorough search of foreign locations for our production site, and Costa Rica by far is the best candidate location.
It has a business-friendly government, a highly skilled workforce, and excellent infrastructure.
We are very confident that we can quickly build an advanced factory there with highly skilled workers.
Intel, for example, has recently built a plant there, and they are operating very successfully.
Angie, I do believe that if Intel can find skilled workers, then so can we.
And finally Dan, regarding loyalty to our workers, the best thing we can do for them is honor their pensions and assist them in their transition to other opportunities.
At the present rate, we will go out of business and have nothing to offer any of the current employees in the way of benefits nor transition assistance.
We only need to look at Enron to see what happens to employees when their company doesn't plan ahead for economic realities.
It seems to me that our plan, which provides continuing benefits to our released workers, is truly the wiser and more humane way to proceed.
In conclusion, I'd like to say that this is a difficult decision, but it's one we must make.
We are very confident of our study methods and conclusions and we can go over them in great detail should any of you wish to.
But the clear and overriding conclusion we've arrived at is that we must make this move or we will be totally out of business in short order.
Now I'd like to take any questions you might have about either the details of our study or our conclusions.
When trying to influence someone, the structure you choose will depend on the situation, the topic, the listener's preferred way of doing things and the time available.
One method that works well when time is short is the most simple.
It's called the tell-em strategy, and it goes like this.
Tell them what you're going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you told them.
For example, a manager at a board meeting might say There are three reasons I need your support for a new CRM system.
Firstly, it will create more cross-selling opportunities for our team.
Secondly, it will improve customer service standards, which will have an impact on revenue.
And thirdly, it will boost morale of our sales force.
These are the most important reasons why you should support our request for a new CRM system.
Providing supporting reasons in threes is a very effective technique.
In Western rhetoric, it is almost expected that a good argument presents three solid supporting points.
The audience might not agree with the recommendation.
But by using the Tullam technique, the message will come across concisely and be easy to comprehend.
Remember that the easier you make it for others to understand your point, the greater the chance of success.
When speaking, your responsibility is to maximize clarity and minimize uncertainty in the minds of the audience.
They shouldn't be left trying to understand what you're trying to say.
The Telem approach is the most direct, but it's just one of many that can be used.
When putting forward a recommendation, you often need to convince others that your solution or proposed course of action is the right one.
In such situations, first set out the context for the discussion.
This is best done by giving an overview of the case, issue, or problem you're trying to address.
This is the method Jack uses in his short but organized argument.
Jack starts with the background, which outlines the problem and the urgent need for a solution.
If your goal is to influence someone, presenting your case persuasively is only part of the job.
You must also make clear what you need them to do or provide in the way of a commitment.
When the aim of the conversation is specifically to encourage action, structure your argument so that you state the recommendation or request, then ask for approval and provide an extra benefit in the case of early agreement.
You'll need to allow time for consideration, but by indicating that there will be something extra or there will be disaster if they don't act, you may tip the balance in your favor and get a quicker reply.
Whichever structure you use, the key is to ensure there is a logical flow of information.
The order in which you present things should be flexible, so as to take account of the situation and the feedback you get.
At all times though, make it easy for your audience, whether one person or hundreds, to understand your theme and purpose.
A clear and logical structure provides a roadmap not only for the speaker, but also for whoever is listening.
Moreover, the principle is just as important in all forms of communication, including emails, PowerPoint presentations and voicemail messages.
The objective is to create understanding, because that always increases the chance of exerting influence and achieving your objectives.
After setting the stage, Jack then explains the solution, gives some additional details on the implementation and argues for the solution using emphasizing language and word stress in key phrases.
He also raises the previous objections of the other managers and effectively counters them with solid facts, examples and logical reasoning.
Here are some ways to introduce the details of the main points you want to make after you've presented your introductory statements.
So let's turn to the first reason for our recommendation.
We will now discuss part one of our findings.
Now we will present the details of our fact-finding mission.
Don't forget to use signposting language and plenty of examples as you lead your listeners through the various points you make to support your argument.
Concluding statements are very important, since this is where you must convince your listeners that your conclusions or recommendations are correct.
Your listeners have now heard all your reasons in supporting examples, and you must now gather the force of all the points you made into your final push.
Using the tell them technique, you can briefly review all the points you made and then give them a logical progression to your conclusion or recommendation.
Here is an example of a concluding statement.
So let's review what we've just covered.
We've discussed how the auto market in Asia is rapidly expanding.
We've also proven that Asian customers prefer smaller cars.
And finally, we've seen that further expansion in the SUV market is not likely.
I think that we can now see that our best course of action is to retool our factories to produce smaller and more economical cars.
Here are some other ways to introduce a summary of the points covered in your argument.
So, where are we now?
In summary, we first looked at regional sales.
Now, let me go back over the points I just made.
After the summary of your supporting points, you then state your conclusions or recommendations, even if you've already stated these at the beginning of your argument.
In our example dialogue, Jack's conclusion is a discussion of the negative results if the company does not take his recommendation.
These points are usually introduced with the phrase, if we don't or we must do this or.
However, many recommendations focus on the positive benefits of taking a recommended course of action.
You might begin by saying, What will we get out of doing this?
Here are some other ways to state the benefits.
If we do this, we can expect much higher sales.
This will result in greater employee satisfaction.
After putting this plan in place, we'll become the industry leader in textile machinery.
Once you've discussed the results of following a recommendation, you must then give a call to action and ask for their commitment.
You can do this by asking for their agreement or support, or you can state an imperative.
Here are some examples of requests for support.
So I ask you to consider this option when discussing our alternatives.
Hopefully, you are in agreement with our perspectives.
Now, we ask you to join with us in making this move a success.
In our dialogue, Jack states his request in the form of an imperative when he says we must make this move, and then states the negative results if they don't agree.
After the request for agreement, a speaker could end by announcing that he would like to take questions, as Jack does in our example.
Here are some phrases to invite questions.
So, that concludes my prepared remarks, and I now open the floor to questions.
Okay, we will now open this up for discussion and questions.
If the speaker does not finish with an invitation for questions, he usually thanks audience members for their attention and concludes by handing the floor back to the chairman or by closing the meeting.
Here are some final concluding statements.
Thank you for your attention and now I'd like to turn this back over to Jim.
That about wraps it up.
And now Jim, would you like to say a few things?
Thank you all for your participation and this concludes our meeting.
And now we'd like to conclude by thanking you for listening.
