List one benefit of an organized presentation over a disorganized presentation.

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Abstract

Two experiments investigated the structure of memory for titles of 54 familiar tunes. The titles were presented in the form of a hierarchy, with nodes labeled by genre (e.g., Rock or Patriotic). Four groups of subjects received logical or randomized titles, and logical or randomized labels. Goodness of label and title structure had equal and additive beneficial effects on recall with a 3-min exposure of the stimuli. With a 4-min exposure, good title structure became a larger contributor to good recall. Clustering analyses suggested that subjects were mentally representing the tune titles hierarchically, even when presentation was random.

Journal Information

The American Journal of Psychology (AJP) was founded in 1887 by G. Stanley Hall and was edited in its early years by Titchener, Boring, and Dallenbach. The Journal has published some of the most innovative and formative papers in psychology throughout its history. AJP explores the science of the mind and behavior, publishing reports of original research in experimental psychology, theoretical presentations, combined theoretical and experimental analyses, historical commentaries, and in-depth reviews of significant books.

Publisher Information

The University of Illinois Press is one of the leading publishers of humanities and social sciences journals in the country. Founded in 1918, the Press publishes more than 40 journals representing 18 societies, along with more than 100 new books annually. Our publication program covers a wide range of disciplines including psychology, philosophy, Black studies, women's studies, cultural studies, music, immigration, and more. Current issues are available through the Scholarly Publishing Collective. The Press is a founding member of the Association of University Presses.

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Common Reasons for Ineffective Presentations

• Not engaging the audience in the beginning of the presentation
• Poorly organized information (no order or logic) or lack of clear purpose
• Poorly designed presentation materials (poor color contrast, background design, font size or type, etc.)
• Incorrect or misleading graphs, charts and visuals
• Too many bullets per slide, or too many lines for each bullet
• Lack of preparation and rehearsal
• Lack of confidence and enthusiasm about the topic
• Inconsistent pace (too much time spent on one part and too little time left for the rest)
• Lack of eye contact with the audience, poor body language and looking at or talking towards the screen
• Inaudible or monotone delivery, mispronunciation of words and reading the slides verbatim
• Not knowing how to use delivery technologies or not being prepared for the technology available
• Poor or incorrect use of technology tools or spending too much to get the technology working
• Not following time limits (too much material) and lack of consideration for other presenters
• Mistakes in the content, and glaring spelling and grammatical errors in the slides
• Ending the presentation abruptly, not leaving enough time for Q&A and not handling Q&A well

Article updated on July 27, 2021.

We all get frustrated whenever we misplace our belongings and looking for them is a time and energy-consuming effort that could have been avoided simply by being more organized. What happens if they are not personal belongings, what if we would talk about your work emails, presentation files, or quarterly reports? The consequences of this lack of organization would be catastrophic not only for you but for the entire company.

How to avoid this type of hardship? The solution might seem obvious, yet often gets overlooked: organizing information.

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Its advantages are various and the top 5 most relevant benefits are:

Efficiency
The greatest advantage of organizing information within a company is the efficiency of the resources. An organized professional will spend less time correcting mistakes, searching for information, and fixing any clutter. The time saved means more time for doing productive things and more resources for other projects, therefore more money. Apart from the positive impact on time management, organizing information will make it more comfortable for employees to share any information with each other, thus working better as a team.

Tracking progress
Of the company. Progressing is the aim of every business, but how can you measure it? Having a clear overview of the company’s projects, activities and resources help management while decision-making. Compiling and recording the data of your company’s incomes and expenditures will help timely identify bottlenecks and support the decision to redirect resources and energy to more profitable elements. "Being able to see and track everyone's progress, no matter how big or small, is the main factor in maintaining company transparency and successful resource allocation," says Dotan Egozi, a monday.com Senior Product Manager. "Once your company finds a project management software that works for you, tracking progress becomes easy."

Of the projects. Organizing information also makes it easier for every employee to have access to relevant information, to have a  snapshot of all ongoing projects, so inter-team communication is more effective and to be on the same page with their teammates.

Better management skills
For any business, organizing information is all about keeping things in proper order such that the path from inquiry to result is clear and time-efficient. Information, in the business’ world, comes from various sources and takes lots of forms: employee records, news, internal meetings minutes, or political context. A company’s information portfolio is the key action influencer in any matter concerning the company, so understanding the data and filtering the noise is essential to management.

Daniel Keys Moran said that “You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data”, and his reference applies undoubtedly to the companies’ need to make rational decisions, through timely and reliable information procured through a logical and well-structured method of collecting, processing, and disseminating information. 

Instilling trust
Organizing information establishes a sense of trust and professionalism in the workplace. A well-organized company projects an image of reliability and control. The strategies adopted by rational decision-makers with the help of thoroughly disseminated information help win the trust of employees, clients, and associates effortlessly.

Reduced stress
A well-organized information culture triggers a more relaxed working environment, as opposed to a cluttered or disorganized office where you are constantly searching for items or through countless threads of emails, attachments, and files. It also allows companies to adapt to modern working models, including remote resources or working from home. 

State-of-the-art tools that enable new ways of working have generated important changes in company management. Traditionally, team members and managers would juggle multiple files, resources, and tasks while struggling to get people on the same page. 

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Which of the following is a benefit of organizing a slide around a key visual such as a pyramid or a circular flow diagram?

What is the most frequently used presentation in business settings?

What is the primary purpose of visuals in a presentation?

What is the second most common presentation in business?