Tip

Every discussion leader carefully considers when which topics should be addressed, reacts when a ‘hot’ topic attracts attention, as well as to signs of tiredness and takes into account the flight schedule of a participant travelling by plane. During a presentation, the speaker alone decides on the selection and the sequence of the arguments he or she puts forward i.e. selects a dramatic sequence, opening with a ‘middle-weight’ argument inevitably followed by a less convincing argument which takes advantage of the ‘slipstream’ generated by the preceding argument. 

This is then followed by a series of more convincing arguments, finishing with the strongest of all.  Anyone who occasionally has only numerous weak arguments to put forward will have to score points on volume, with a ‘long list’ of arguments.

In the case of arguments for and against, it is recommended to use the so-called ‘commercial break technique’: The first and last ads in a commercial break are always the most expensive since these are the ones we remember most (and because more people are on the toilet during the middle of the break). Therefore, if a presenter is in favor of something, it is most effective to put forward these arguments at the beginning and at the end, with the counterarguments sandwiched in the middle.

The design of the presentation is entirely up to the presenter whose most important decision is often which information NOT to include or to only mention ‘in passing’. Hardly anyone will ask themselves during the presentation whether this is a question of power being exercised – it is simply the order in which the arguments are presented.