The Truth About Confident Presenting

Chapter 6. A Presentation Is a Learning Occasion

Each presentation is a learning opportunity for your audience. They may be revisiting familiar concepts and ideas, or they may be exploring uncharted territory. But for everyone seated in front of you, your presentation is an opportunity to learn something new or reinforce previous learning.

In the middle of the last century, a college professor by the name of Benjamin Bloom led a group of his colleagues in examining how people learn. One of their most useful observations was a classification system used to examine various types of learning. In their study of university students across the United States, they found that learning falls broadly into three categories:

• Knowledge—. Mental skills that involve ...