It is not an “all you can say” buffet…

簡報無法暢所欲言

An insight into the psychological concept of “chunking” and how we can counter information overload during presentations. The two major goals of this article are to (1) deliver an effective and strong message (2) consider the audience’s mental capacity.

理解心理學的「切塊」概念，以應對資訊量超載的簡報。本文的兩個目的：(1) 傳遞強而有效的資訊 (2) 考慮聽眾的承受力

文章的上篇，跟大家分享切塊的概念以及邏輯。後半篇幅的內容，將跟大家接續分享關於視覺以及口語表達方面可以如何切分內容。

Chunking Visually 視覺切塊

When it comes to visual elements within a presentation slide, there is a tendency to crowd or overuse text and imagery. The previous notion can distract audiences’ attention and ultimately overall reception of your presentation. For example, if I took my grocery list and broke down the priority items, we can see chunking in visual action.

關於投影片的視覺元素，目前有頁面越來越擁擠或過度使用文字和圖像的趨勢。這會分散聽眾的注意力，最終影響簡報的整體效果。還是以雜貨店的清單為例，按照我的需求程度進行分類，並使用視覺切塊：

 BEFORE

AFTER

In comparison, the “after” visual shows how chunking jumped into action by grouping images and key text accordingly. Chunking is not only playing a logical role here (prioritizing grocery items), but also creating 3 digestible visual groups. 

相較之下，「after」可視化地呈現了將關鍵文字和圖片相對應切塊的效果。切塊不僅起到了邏輯分類的作用 (處理雜貨的優先順序)，還呈現三個易懂的視覺模塊。

Chunking Vocally 口語切塊

The concept of chunking is not just exclusive to visual comprehension, but also auditory comprehension. Specifically, your unique speech mechanisms can critically affect the end result. From your grammar to volume characteristics, your vocal delivery should be clear in nature. So, how does chunking fit in here? 1…2…3…4…5… I just took an approximately 5 second pause, which ideally results in your ability to remember the previously stated content. Pausing is basically vocal chunking, it gives listeners some time to process what you said. 

切塊這個概念不限於視覺理解，對聽覺理解也很有幫助。一個人獨特的說話機制對表達結果有很大程度的影響。從語法使用到音量音質，發音應該要清晰。如何運用呢？1…2…3…4…5…我前面停頓了大概 5 秒，理論上這會讓你記住前面的講的東西。停頓是最基礎的口語切塊策略，給聽眾一些時間去處理他所聽到的內容。

For example, if I stated 例如，我不停地陳述

“I am going to the grocery store to buy apples and some fish, maybe lobster, crab, water and oranges too” in a non-stop manner, it may be hard to recall all the details.

「我要去雜貨店買蘋果魚可能還有龍蝦、螃蟹、水和橘子。」中間沒有任何停頓，對於我自己來說，也很難重複這些細節，何況在聽的人。

Whereas, if I said 但如果我是說

“I am going to the grocery store / to buy apples and some fish / maybe lobster, crab, water and oranges…” at least the pauses ( / ) allow for 3 major bits of details to be clearly said. In turn, listeners should be able to catch the main details and remember more grocery list items.

「我要去雜貨店  ， 買蘋果和魚， 可能還有龍蝦、螃蟹、水和橘子。」最起碼停頓的部分可以讓我清楚地說出三個主要的細節，反之，聽眾也能捕捉到一些主要資訊並且記住更多的項目。

So, we covered three possible methods of “chunking” (logic, visual, vocal), which can elevate your presentation effectiveness. Give your audiences something to remember!   

這次分享了三種形式的切塊 (邏輯、視覺、口語)，運用它可以提升你的簡報效率，讓聽眾記住你的內容。

本文作者：BFA 簡報