Persuasive Presentations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Persuasive Presentations - Essay Example For most writers, that's presenting information, usually to an audience that's about as knowledgeable on the subject as we are. (Anthony 45-57) For presentations, that's a lethal combination. Factual information presented at a high level of technical expertise not only doesn't persuade, but may actually alienate the reader. For thousands of years, people have tried to figure out the best way to persuade other people to do things. We know that persuasion has been the subject of serious study since the days of classical Greece. Plato worried about the rhapsodes' ability to appeal to citizens' emotions and persuade them to do things that were not in the best of interest of the city or themselves. And Aristotle wrote one of the great treatises on persuasion. (Rasmussen 23-36) Among the Romans the ability to persuade was considered a hallmark of responsible citizenship. Since World War II, researchers have worked particularly hard to identify the elements of persuasion. Why They have some practical motives: improving advertising and marketing campaigns, motivating audiences, influencing the electorate, girding consumers and voters against propaganda, understanding the dynamics of brainwashing, and- yes- writing better presentations. From all this speculation and research, four elements have consistently bee n a vital part of nearly every theory of persuasion: the message, the receiver, the channel, and the source. (Daley 79-83) Giving them some consideration will give us a deeper understanding of the process of persuasion. Message The impact of your message depends in part on whether the receiver is receptive to it to begin with. If the evidence or logic in a particular persuasive message is in line with the audience's basic values, beliefs, or biases, the receiver is more likely to accept it and modify his or her attitudes accordingly. If the evidence runs counter to the receiver's basic beliefs, persuasion is far less likely to occur. Thus, the way you frame your message with regard to your audience's preferences is critical. That may seem circular: You can persuade people to accept only the things they already accept or to do the things they already want to do. But that's not quite what's going on here. (Holcombe 112-24) There is a difference between a belief and an attitude. Someone may issue an RFP for new equipment because he or she believes that production efficiency can be improved by using more modern technology. If you can base your presentation on the same belief and then demonstrate how your equipm ent will introduce labor-saving enhancements, the receiver's attitude toward you as the most suitable vendor will change in a positive way. However, if you send out a canned presentation, one that emphasizes the ruggedness and durability of your machines, instead of their impact on production efficiency, you will be not be addressing the client's basic belief. (Anthony 45-57) As a result, you may not persuade him or her to choose you. This is the fundamental problem in submitting boilerplate presentations. Because customers vary widely in their beliefs and values, using the same text for everybody guarantees that a large percentage of them will find your message irrelevant or unconvincing. Receiver The receiver is a vital component of

La Indolencia de Los Filipinos Essay Example for Free

La Indolencia de Los Filipinos Essay La indolencia de los filipinos (y de los estudiantes tambien) 1. What was the effect of conviction of inferiority? -The child or youth who tries to be anything else is blamed with vanity and presumption; the curate ridicules him with cruel sarcasm, his relatives look upon him with fear, strangers regard him with great compassion. No forward movement Get back in the ranks and keep in line! With his spirit thus molded the native falls into the most pernicious of all routines: routine not planned but imposed and forced. Note that the native himself is not naturally inclined to routine but his mind is disposed to accept all truth, just as his house is open to all strangers. The good and the beautiful attract him, seduce and captivate him although like the the Japanese he often exchanges the good for the evil, if it appears to him garnished and gilded. What he lacks is in the first place liberty to allow expansion to his adventuresome spirit, and good examples, beautiful prospects for the future. It is necessary that his spirit, although it may be dismayed and cowed by the elements and the fearful manifestation of their mighty forces, store up energy, seek high purposes, in order to struggle against obstacles in the midst of unfavorable natural conditions. In order that he may progress it is necessary that a revolutionary spirit, so to speak, should boil in his veins, since progress necessarily requires the present; the victory of new ideas over the ancient and accepted one. It will not be sufficient to speak to his fancy, to talk nicely to him, nor that the light illuminate him like the ignis fatuus that leads travelers astray at night: all the flattering promises of the fairest hopes will not suffice, so long as his spirit is not free, his intelligence is not respected. 2. What is the meaning of the statement, tila ka kastila? The pernicious example of the dominators in surrounding themselves with servants and despising manual or corporal labor as a thing unbecoming the nobility and chivalrous pride of the heroes of so many centuries; those lordly airs, which the natives have translated into tila ka castila, and the desire of the dominated to be the equal of the dominators, if not essentially, at least in their manners; all this had naturally to produce aversion to activity and fear or hatred of work. 3. What does Rizal mean by saying that indolence in the Philippines is a chronic but not an inherited disease? When in consequence of a long chronic illn ess the condition of the patient is examined, the question may arise whether the weakening of the fibers and the debility of the organs are the cause of the maladys continuing or the effect of the bad treatment that prolongs its action. The attending physician attributes the entire failure of his skill to the poor constitution of the patient, to the climate, to the surroundings, and so on. On the other hand, the patient attributes the aggravation of the evil to the system of treatment followed. Only the common crowd, the inquisitive populace, shakes its head and cannot reach a decision. Something like this happens in the case of the Philippines. Instead of a physician, read government, that is friars, employees, etc. Instead of patient, Philippines; instead of malady, indolence. 4. What proofs did Rizal give to show that pre-Spanish Malayans were not indolent? -Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Malayan Filipinos carried on an active trade, no only among themselves but also with all the neighboring countries. All the histories of those first years, in short, abound in long accounts about the industry and agriculture of the natives; mines, gold-washings, looms, farms, barter, naval construction, raising of poultry and stock, weaving of silk and cotton, distilleries, manufactures of arms, pearl fisheries, the civet industry, the horn and hide industry, etc. , are things encountered at every step, and considering the time and the conditions in the islands, prove that there was life, there was activity, there was movement. 5. How did it happen that the industrious pagan culture was transformed into that of an indolent Christian culture? -We have already spoken of the more or less latent predisposition which exists in the Philippines toward indolence, and which must exist everywhere, in the whole world, in all men, because we all hate work more or less, as it may be more or less hard, more ore less unproductive. The dolce far niente of the Italian, the rascarse la barriga of the Spaniard, the supreme aspiration of the bourgeois to live on his income in peace and tranquility, attest this. It seems that there are causes more than sufficient to breed indolence in the midst of a beehive. Thus is explained why, after thirty-two years of the system, the circumspect and prudent Morga said that the natives have forgotten much about farming, raising poultry, stock and cotton and weaving cloth, as they used to do in their paganism and for a long time after the country had been conquered! 6. Why does the city of Hong Kong have more commercial and trade activities than the whole of the Philippines? It has more commercial movement than all the islands together, because it is free and is well governed. The great difficulty that every enterprise encountered with the administration contributed not a little to kill off all commercial and industrial movement. All the Filipinos, as well as all those who have tried to engage in business in the Philippines, know how many documents, what comings, how many stamped papers, how much patience is needed to secure from the government a permit for an enterprise. One must count upon the good will of this one, on the influence of that one, on a good bribe to another in order that the application be not pigeon-holed, a present to the one further on so that it may pass it on to his chief; one must pray to God to give him good humor and time to see and examine it; to another, talent to recognize its expediency; to one further on sufficient stupidity not to scent behind the enterprise an insurrectionary purpose land that they may not all spend the time taking baths, hunting or playing cards with the reverend friars in their convents or country houses. And above all, great patience, great knowledge of how to get along, plenty of money, a great deal of politics, many salutations, great influence, plenty of presents and complete resignation! 7. Was there gambling in the country before the coming of the Spaniards? -Yes, we do not mean to say that before the coming of the Spaniards the natives did not gamble: the passion for gambling is innate in adventuresome and excitable races, and such is the Malay, Pigafetta tells us of cockfights and of bets in the Island of Paragua. Cock-fighting must also have existed in Luzon and in all the islands, for in the terminology of the game are two Tagalog words: sabong and tari (cockpit and gaff). But there is not the least doubt that the fostering of this game is due to the government, as well as the perfecting of it. 8. What are the effects of too many religious festivals on the country? Remember, that lack of capital and absence of means paralyze all movement, and you will see how the native was perforce to be indolent for if any money might remain to him from the trials, imposts and exactions, he would have to give it to the curate for bulls, scapularies, candles, novenaries, etc. And if this does not suffice to form an indolent character, if the climate and nature are not enough in themselves to daze him and deprive him of all energy, recall then that the doctrine of his religion teach him to irrigate his fields in the dry season, not by means of canals but with amasses and prayers; to preserve his stock during an epidemic with holy water, exorcisms and benedictions that cost five dollars an animal, to drive away the locusts by a procession with the image of St. Augustine, etc. It is well, undoubtedly, to trust greatly in God; but it is better to do what one can not trouble the Creator every moment, even when these appeals redound to the benefit of His ministers. We have noticed that the countries which believe most in miracles are the laziest, just as spoiled children are the most ill-mannered. Whether they believe in miracles to palliate their laziness or they are lazy because they believe in miracles, we cannot say; but he fact is the Filipinos were much less lazy before the word miracle was introduced into their language. 9. What other evidence may be pointed out to show the lack of national sentiment? -The very limited training in the home, the tyrannical and sterile education of the rare centers of learning that blind subordination of the youth to one of greater age, influence the mind so that a man may not aspire to excel those who preceded him but must merely be content to go along with a march behind them. Stagnation forcibly results from this, and as he who devotes himself merely to copying divests himself of other qualities suited to his own nature, he naturally becomes sterile; hence decadence. Indolence is a corollary derived from the lack of stimulus and of vitality. That modesty infused into the convictions of everyone, or, to speak more clearly, that insinuated inferiority, a sort of daily and constant depreciation of the mind so that it may not be raised to the regions of life, deadens the energies, paralyzes all tendencies toward advancement, and of the least struggle a man gives up without fighting. If by one of those rare incidents, some wild spirit, that is some active one, excels, instead of his example stimulating, it only causes others to persist in their inaction. Theres one who will work for us; lets sleep on! say his relatives and friends. True it is that the spirit of rivalry is sometimes awakened, only that then it awakens with bad humor in the guise of envy, and instead of being a lever for helping, it is an obstacle that produces discouragement. 10. How do we know there was no national sentiment? -Absence of all opposition to measures prejudicial to the people and the absence of any initiative in whatever may redound to its good. A man in the Philippines is only an individual, he is not a member of a nation. He is forbidden and denied the right of association, and is, therefore, weak and sluggish. The Philippines is an organism whose cells seem to have no arterial system to irrigate it or nervous system to communicate its impressions; these cells must, nevertheless, yield their product, get it where they can; if they perish, let them perish. In the view of some this is expedient so that a colony may be a colony; perhaps they are right, but not the effect that a colony may flourish.

Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lines Composed a Few M

"Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley and "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" by Wordsworth The two chosen pieces both have a dominant theme of nature. Shelley, in his poem 'Ode to the West Wind,'; uses poignant tone, while using personification and imagery to unravel his theme of nature. While Wordsworth's '...Tintern Abbey'; contains a governing theme of nature, Wordsworth uses first person narration, illusive imagery, as well as an amiable tone to avow his connection to nature. In his poem, 'Ode to the West Wind,'; Shelley uses a poignant and heart-rending tone to describe the power of nature and more specifically the wind. Shelley's reference to the wind, as the 'sister of Spring'; and a 'Maenad,'; shows how the wind is like a woman, spontaneous and free, with the liberty to be a gentle soul or a vicious amazon. He sees the wind with wonderment, and at the same time respects it and or even fears it. Shelly not only uses tone to depict his conception of nature, but he goes on to use personification to characterize the strength and vigor the wind possesses. He gives the wind human characteristics by referring to the wind as 'her'; and 'she.'; For example, 'Her clarion over the dreaming earth, and fill (Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) With loving hues and odors plain and hill,'; can be paralleled with a woman tending to her garden with love and devotion. Along with a heart-rending tone and personification Shelley uses imagery to d...

Hedging Currency Risks at AIFS Essay

The American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) is offering cultural exchange programs for American students and High School pupils throughout the world. Their customers have the possibility to go abroad while the AIFS organises the whole trip for them. Due to their business model the revenues of the company are denominated only in USD, since the offer is for American students who pay in USD. Meanwhile the costs of the company is mostly denominated in foreign currency because AIFS has to pay the transport, the hotel and much more in the countries in which their customers are travelling, hence the firm has to pay in the local currency of these countries. In consequence of the fluctuating exchange rate of USD against foreign currencies and the fact that AIFS fixes the price for their services before the costs can be estimated, the firm faces an inevitable currency exposure. In order to limit or eliminate this risk, AIFS has to hedge their currency exposure. At the moment the company hedges 100% of their exposure using forward contracts and currency options. Now Becky Tabaczynski, CFO of one of the main divisions, is creating a model, including different scenarios, with the goal of identifying which proportion of the exposure should be hedged at all and in which proportion forward contracts and currency options should be used for hedging. Not hedging at all could have disastrous consequences for the whole company because in the case of a weak dollar the costs could rise drastically while the revenues remain fixed. Suppose the company has fixed the prices for the current season and now the costs in Europe are one million euros, while the exchange rate is at 1.20 USD/EUR. This means the firm’s costs are 1.2 million dollar. If the dollar weakens against the euro and the exchange rates rises to 1.32 USD/EUR, costs for AIFS would increase by 10%. Thus costs would increase by The higher the costs turn out, the higher this negative effect would be in nominal amount. The biggest stake of the costs are in euro and pound sterling, hence these two currencies are of major concern. In case of a strong dollar the company would profit the most without hedging but due to the downside trend of the dollar against euro and sterling simultaneously in short and medium term (Exhibit 6 & 7) there is  reasonable evidence that AIFS s hould be prepared to cover their currency exposure. If the company would use 100% forward contracts to hedge their costs, they would fix the costs, no matter what happens to the exchange rates of dollar to foreign currencies. An advantage of this strategy is that AIFS does not have to bear any costs entering the forward contracts, but on the other hand, it will neither make a profit in case the dollar strengthens nor will it suffer a loss in case the dollar weakens. A more flexible but meanwhile more expensive strategy to hedge is only using currency options. That means AIFS would have to pay the option premium in any case but this strategy allows to profit from unlimited favourable movements while limiting losses by the premium. So if the spot rate at expiry is higher than the strike price, AIFS can exercise their option and buy foreign currency for the lower strike price. And if the spot rate at expiry is less than the strike price, AIFS can forget about the option and buy for the lower spot rate. In any case the option premium has to be added to the costs. The possible outcomes in the two described strategies and a scenario with no hedge at all are summarized in the table below. % Cover 100% 100% 0% Contracts 0% 100% – Options 100% 0% – 1.01 -3,725,000 0 -5,250,000 1.22 1,525,000 0 0 1.48 1,525,000 0 6,500,000 The table is based on a sales volume of 25,000 and average cost of â‚ ¬1,000 per participant. That means, with the current spot rate of 1.22 USD/EUR the costs would be $30,500,000 (â‚ ¬25,000,000 * 1.22 USD/EUR). The option premium in this case is 5% of the USD notional value that is hedged and three scenarios are examined: The dollar strengthens (1.01 USD/EUR) The dollar remains stable (1.22 USD/EUR) The dollar weakens (1.48 USD/EUR) In the first column the proportion of the hedged amount is given and in the second and third column of the table the proportions of forward contracts and currency options used to hedge are listed respectively. The fourth fifth  and sixth column show the nominal effect on the costs in each scenario relative to the ‘zero impact’ scenario (exchange rate remains stable at 1.22 USD/EUR) while it is assumed that in each hedging strategy the strike price is the current spot rate of 1.22 USD/EUR. Comparing the results of the table shows the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. If 100% of the currency exposure is hedged only using options, the costs rise by $1,525,000 (which is exactly the option premium $30,500,000 * 5%) both in the ‘zero impact’ scenario and in the scenario of 1.48 USD/EUR, since in both cases the option will be exercised. In the case of a strong dollar (1.01 USD/EUR) the option will not be exercised since euros can be bought to the lower spot rate but the premium is lost. In total the costs still sink by 3,725,000 because the effect of the lower spot rate compensates the premium. Using only forward contracts to hedge results into no impact on the costs in any case since the exchange rate is fixed no matter what happens and there is no initial cost entering the contract. In case AIFS does not hedge at all, the costs either decrease by $5,250,000 if the exchange rate is 1.01 USD/EUR, or remain unchanged in the ‘zero impact’ scenario or increase by $6,500,000 if the exchange rate is 1.48 USD/EUR. The impact on the cost if nothing is hedged arises merely from the difference in the spot rate and is much stronger than in the hedged case. Since the company is highly affected by news of war, terrorism and political instability, events which are impossible to predict, I would suggest to alter their hedging policy and use mainly options for hedging. In case of such terrible news the forecasted volume of 25 thousand could drop up to 60%. That means in the worst case of a 60% drop, the companies costs decrease by 15 million euros but AIFS would be obliged to buy this amount if they are only hedged with forwards. Options instead would give the company more flexibility, which is a major issue since not only the exchange rates fluctuate but also the volume of participants. In my opinion AIFS should use proportions of 75% options and 25% forward contracts. In this way AIFS would fix the costs for a quarter of their exposure and still be flexible enough to react to different market circumstances and unforeseen events. Moreover AIFS should keep covering 100% of their exposure because they have already experienced a loss of $700,000 in 1995 while they only hedged 80%. In addition the company should continue to deal with 6 different banks to reduce the counterpart risk. In the following table the impact on the costs in different scenarios are summarized using the same methodology as in the table above. In the worst case scenario with 10,000 participants and in the scenario with 30,000 participants the currency exposure decreases to â‚ ¬10 million and increases to â‚ ¬30 million respectively but the impact on the costs using different proportions of forward contracts and options remains the same relatively speaking. Instead of derivatives, an alternative possibility for AIFS to hedge their currency exposure would be to set up accounts abroad in foreign currency up to a certain amount. This would simplify the hedging approach and it would be reasonable the business model of AIFS forces them to keep foreign exchange every year.

Motherland Speech Essay

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance †¦. We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again. A country got rid of her foreign yoke and became a sovereign nation, she celebrated her sovereignty on this day – the triumph of numerous martyred souls. It was a day of fulfillment, it was the day of a new beginning, a birth of a nation.On the stroke of midnight, a country came into life again as the british handed over the governance to the leaders.The long and difficult struggle had borne fruit at last, though the happiness was marred by the fact that the country was divided and the violent communal riots had left the countries permanently scarred. That was the price that India paid for her dearly bought freedom. The british government declared the country independent and left for their own shores. On the 15th of August, 1947, India became completely independent. It was on this historic date that Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime Minister of India, unfurled the Indian tricolor on the ramparts the magnificent Red Fort, symbolically marking the end of the british colonial rule.. Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, the world still sleeps ,ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy. And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we†¦