Essay and narrated presentation

Trends in My Profession Essay

• The head of your company has asked you to do some research into THREE noteworthy trends in your profession (LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT). The goal of this assignment is to write an informative essay which will be used as background material for an upcoming discussion of the company's strategic priorities. You have been asked to do the following:

Write a 1,000-1,200 word essay in which you discuss THREE trends in your profession. You are to find at least SIX RESOURCES to support your ideas. The source material will be included in the essay in APA format, with both in-text citations and a Reference List at the end.

You are excited about this assignment because you realize that being able to spots trends in your industry is an important skill. It assists you on the job as you work to create and deliver innovative and forward-looking products and services. It assists you in career planning as you envision new directions and opportunities for yourself. Spaeder (2007), writing for Entrepreneur, offers the following on how to Spot the Latest Trends.

Steps

In this assignment, research THREE trends in your profession, and then write an APA-formatted essay that includes information from at least SIX articles, books and documents your research. Before you begin, read about academic research and the UMUC libraries: research resources, scholarly literature, and UMUC's library research databases. These references will help you get started with your research. Once you've found some useful sources, you'll want to view and retrieve your sources.

Format

o Employ APA Style 6ed, including a title page, running header, and Reference List. This video will help you cite your sources properly (for sources with and without a DOI).

o Include at least six (6) references; a minimum of three (3) must come from the UMUC library.

o Follow best practices for structuring the paper:

- An effective introduction grabs the reader's attention and sets the tone and direction for the rest of the paper. In reading an introduction, the reader should have a clear idea of what will follow. Supporting paragraphs move the reader from the general introduction to the more specific aspects of your analysis in the paper.

- The body paragraphs show how the information you are providing supports and relates to your thesis. Paragraphs across and within sections need to effectively transition from one to the next.

- Each paragraph should include a topic sentence, which contains the main point of the paragraph.

- The conclusion brings to a close what you have presented in your paper.

Process Steps

d. Review the resources about research contained in this module.

e. Employ the UMUC Library to locate journal articles, books, and other sources that that will assist you in identifying the trends in your industry; use this link for help: Research Trends. See the other resources the library has for you as well:UMUC Library Resources.html.

f. Ensure a mix of quality resources; limit use of web sources to well-vetted, reputable sites.

Trends in My Profession Presentation

• Wow! Your boss is very impressed with the research you've done, and she wants you to present this information at the next all-hands meeting. Unfortunately, you're going to be across the country at a conference for that meeting, so you won't be able to give this presentation live. But no one can deliver this message as well as you, so you'll need to create a narrated PowerPoint to convey your message in your absence.

Create a 5-minute narrated PowerPoint presentation of the information you discovered for your previous Trends in My Profession assignment.

Steps to completion:

1. Learn about designing an effective presentation from the material below.

2. Organize your thoughts and create the outline you'll follow as you present. Your presentation should NOT consist of you simply reading your paper out loud - that is a sure way to death by PowerPoint.

3. Create your slides, using the design tips below.

4. Practice your narration. Make your speech as natural as you can, changing your vocal inflections to convey as much meaning as possible.

5. If you haven't created a narrated PowerPoint before, you will want to check the directions: How to narratea PPT.html

You have been subjected to your share of stultifying presentations, and you want to make sure your presentation keeps your audience's attention and conveys your message in a way that people will remember. Perhaps you've heard of "death by PowerPoint" - that's a term coined in 2001 to describe what happens when presenters don't use the PowerPoint program effectively. David JP Phillips, author of How to Avoid Death by PowerPoint (2011), has written and presented about many different techniques to improve presentations. Some of his tips include the following:

• Stick to one idea per slide. People can't focus on more than one thing at a time.

• Use key words instead of whole sentences. When people are given sentences to read while someone is talking, they choose to read instead of listen.

• Each slide needs fewer than six objects. Putting too many objects on the screen simultaneous slows down the viewer's comprehension.

• Use images, preferably with color and emotion. Colorful, emotional images increase retention.

• Use animationsparingly. Phillips suggests only using "appear" animation, to show what you're saying as you say it. Making words swoosh across the screen is a waste of time.

• Do not be afraid of using too many slides. They're free! And using more slides with fewer ideas on each one will help your audience understand and retain the ideas you present.

You may watch David JP Phillips' entertaining (and educational) TED talk below. In it, he discusses how to deliver a presentation (which will be useful elsewhere, even if not on this assignment) and how to design one (which will be useful for this assignment as well as in the future). He goes in depth on the points listed above, with visual examples and the rationales behind the tips.

https://youtu.be/bOrHxRB3JrQ

Some people love public speaking, but most people dread it. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said,

"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."

Where do you fall on the love it-hate it continuum? Why? And what do you do when it's time to present?

If you are one of the hate-it people, you might want to give this video a look:

https://youtu.be/K93fMnFKwfI