#pitching midterms

Is Pressure ever good for Effectiveness? Actually, research shows, it can be. However, with certain conditions. What is the right amount of pressure in order to work effectively in a team and which are the mechanisms that can make pressure useful?

You have just recently completed one of the milestones of the PREMIUM programme: the Midterms presentations. We congratulate with you and we would like to stress that, even though this important part of the programme is now behind you, it is vital to remain focus and concentrated in order to ensure an effective completion of this experience.

Here some insightful tips on how to proceed effectively throughout this second part of the PREMIUM experience: firstly, it is important to check the progress of your project in order to understand if the goals you decided upon are still reachable, feasible and if all members of the team agree and are on board with the current situation.

Secondly, try to allow poor performance to lead to a natural consequence. In this way, the team will have a tangible example of what can happen if some members – or the team as a whole – shows poor performance. Knowing what can happen in case of poor performance might help motivating the team into reaching the end goals in a more effective way.

Feedback is also an extremely vital part of any effective teamwork. However, feedback should be constructive and, more importantly, also positive! When pointing out a problem in the making of the project, always try to think of ways to improve the situation. This bring to the next tip of today: when challenged by a problem in your team and project, try to give structure to that problem and make it less scary by breaking into smaller pieces – smaller challenges the team would need to deal with.

Lastly, we all strive and are more effective and productive in a context where we are valued and appreciated. Try to create a safe space within your team and deal with teamwork with an open-minded attitude towards different perspectives and issues.

We hope this post could be informative and helpful in some way! Good luck with the goals and challenges ahead.

Dear PREMIUM students,

Congratulations on the completion of the first evening of Midterm presentations. We hope you were able to get as much feedback as possible and also enjoy and celebrate the successes.

You are now half way through the project: the feedback received throughout these two evenings of presentations might be extremely precious for the development of your project. As a result, here some tips on how to receive feedback and try to implement suggestions at best.

Good luck to the PREMIUM teams presenting tonight via the online Zoom format. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Dear PREMIUM students,

We hope you had a lovely and relaxing Carnival break and you are now ready to embrace the rest of the programme with renewed enthusiasm!

In light of next week Midterm project presentations, we would like to share top tips on how to present at best and make your presentation effective:

Firstly, try to show you are passionate about the topic and at ease in the situation. Be honest and enthusiastic!

Secondly, make sure you have a clear idea of your audience and its needs. While you give the presentation you also must focus on the audience’s response to what you are conveying and react to that. Moreover, try to engage with the audience: smile, make eye contact, show that you are invested in conveying a message to them effectively.

Thirdly, it is extremely important to keep your core message focused and brief.

In addition, focus on the potential of your voice: vary your speed and tone in line with the importance of specific concepts conveyed.

Lastly, your body language is also extremely important: make your gestures open and confident, showing your audience that you are comfortable talking to them and delivering your message.

How do you feel about next week’s presentation? Are you worried, anxious, excited? We want to wish you the best of luck! We hope this can be an inspiring learning experience for you.

We hope you all enjoyed the midterm presentations and learned more about each other’s progress. It was a lot of fun, keep up the good work!