Verbal and Digital Presentations in ENACTUS World

Cup Competition: A Rhetorical Perspective

1- Introduction
03/20/2016
The studys main concern is the rhetoric of two presentations
delivered by teams of university students from Egypt and the USA
in a world cup competition through investigating
1- the role of multimodal slides in the persuasive
process and
2- the role of verbal-visual synchronicity in fulfilling
the Generic Persuasive Potential
A verbal/digital sales presentation is a genre whose purpose
is to sell a product or an idea through communicating
information, or more precisely through getting the audience
involved emotionally and cognitively. In such presentations we
have a case of soft sell not hard sell as presented tend to use
subtle persuasion. through SYNCHRONITY of Slides along with
verbal and non-verbal language, that is through a blend of
several synchronized semiotic signs that integrates pictures, text,
design on the slides, as well as spoken language, gestures, acts
of pointing, etc. by the speaker.
Presentations with PowerPoint has been made possible by
digitalization (The term digitization is often used when diverse
forms of information, such as text, sound, image or voice, are
converted into a single binary code. Digital information exists as
one of two digits, either 0 or 1. These are known as bits (a
contraction of binary digits) and the sequences of 0s and 1s that
constitute information are called bytes.[3])
The orchestration of the multimodal arrangement of
a presentation happens in three different modal domains:
the visual domain of the slides, the verbal domain of
speech, and the performative domain of gestures and
pointing (see Bucher, 2011; Bucher et al., 2010).

 In PowerPoint presentations, we can define a phase

as the segment of communication that is limited by the
fade-in and fade-out of a single slide.
What is Rhetoric:
It is the art of persuasive discourse (Cockcroft & Cockcroft
3)
One of the oldest surviving systematic disciplines in the
world it has survived because of its capacity to adapt to
ideological and social change.
- Persuasion:
an interaction that effectively constitutes a social and
ideoloegical contract between persuader and persuade (141)

Five Canons (ruling principle) of Rhetoric:

First : Invention
Under which come ethos (source credibility) pathos
(emotional engagement through actualization) and logos
(cognitive engagement through models of argument)
Second: Disposition/Arrangement: Generic Persuasive
Potential: Obligatory and Optional Elements
Third: Expression: Schemes and Tropes
Fourth: Memory
Fifth: Delivery
- Three Means of Persuasion:

Aristotle classifies the means of persuasion in three main

categories, and from these categories we derive three permanent
working principles of persuasion ethos (persuasion through
moral character or personality and stance) pathos (persuasion
through the arousal of emotion, i.e. putting the hearer into a
certain [emotional] frame of mind); and logos (persuasion
through reasoning or by the speech itself when we establish proof
or disproof). (p4/p15).
Pathos or emotional engagement:
It is the need to orient emotional appeals precisely towards
audience and topic and to found them on sources of feeling
accessible to speaker and audience. This link between emotive
source, persuader and audience constitutes engagement.
Persuaders may use a variety of linguistic means to achieve
empathy and create engagement (17)
Logos or Cognitive engagement
As a structuring principle in rhetoric, logos includes: the process
of identifying the issues at the heart of the debate; the range of
diverse arguments in the discourse; the structure of thought
these arguments compose and the sequencing, coherence and
logical value of these argumentsThe models of argument
represent the various resources available to the persuader. (18)
Resources of Argument: (81)
To understand the structural principal of Logos, we have to
differentiate between stages:
1- Invention (Greek heurisis): a method of thinking up
arguments on any given topic.
2- Judgment: the evaluation of these arguments as they bear
on the issue on hand.

Persuasive Process
When giving a presentation, there is an implicit assumption that
certain scripts and schemata will be followed, including the
appropriate ordering of the text p. 135
studying the order or arrangement of arguments was a major
concern of rhetoric
Unmarked structure of arguments resulted in a sequence of 7
stages: p.136
1- introduction
2- narrative or statement of facts
3- proposition or determination of the point of issue
4- division ot enumeration and summary of points
5- proof of the case
6- refutation of the opponents case
7- conclusion
However, marked variation in ordering can be found in spoken
and written persuasion.
Persuasive Ordering and Narrative:
Ordering in persuasive presentation has parallels with oral and
written narratives and its associated patterns and structure.
Labov developed a narrative structure theory based on oral
narratives of black vernacular speakers. 136-137
Story Grammar (Propp, Mandler and Johnson 1977) is another
way of describing narrative structure:
Story > Setting + Event Structure
These three units are recognized as the building bricks of any
narrative which are linked together by markers or connectors
signifying number, relationships, cause/effect. 138

These narrative are similar to the scripts, scenes and other

schemata recognized as integral aspects of the cognitive
dimension of persuasion.
Main questions:

To what extent does the verbal-visual synchronicity fulfill

the Generic Persuasive Potential?
What are the rhetorical devices used by persuaders to
get the judges cognitively and emotionally engaged via
verbal and visual synchronicity?

Canons of Persuasion in Presentations:

I- Presentation Persuasive Structure: Presentation as a
persuasive genre

According to Hasan (142), a genre is socially constructed

having its own pragmatic purposes with language functioning in
either an ancillary or a constitutive role within any given genre.

Hasans Generic Structure Potential (GSP):

Hasan proposes the GSP as an abstract category
descriptive of the total range of textual structures within a genre
designed to highlight the variant and invariant properties of
textual structures within the limit of one genre. The GSP must be
capable of specifying in any text structure:
the obligatory elements required to define the genre
the optional elements
the obligatory and optional ordering of these elements

every element of the GSP has its own semantic attributes

and lexico-grammatical realization.

Generic Persuasive Potential (GPP)

Based on Hasans GSP, Cockcroft and Cockcroft developed
the Generic Persuasive Potential (GPP). They wonder if they can
identify obligatory elements, certain optional elements and a
particular ordering of them. 143
They identified three obligatory elements as the constituents
of the GPP (2005/2014):
First Obligatory GPP Element: Opening/Initiating, realized
through one or more of the Optional Elements:
Exordium Establishing rapport
Narration briefing the audience
Proposition stating position on Issue
Division enumeration of points
Second Obligatory GPP Element: Proof/Disproof,
Proof of own case (Optional)
Refutation of opponents case
(sub-divided arguments; factual statement or narrative;
appeals to the audiences emotions or goodwill; evaluation)
Third Obligatory GPP Element:
- Peroration emotive appeal for action
In the persuasive process, the Elements are functional and
such functions are found in any genre, text or discourse type that
includes a persuasive component. 145

Cockcroft and Cockcroft claim that any given genre does not
only have a GSP but also a GPP. They hypothesize that any
persuasive text will make use of both optional and obligatory
elements of the GPP in its persuasive ordering and will be
positioned along the persuasive cline or continuum 145
At one extreme are text with primary or secondary
persuasive purposes (hard-sell advertising, political speech)in
which the GPP is fully realized in terms of lexis, grammar, syntax,
and ordering. At the other extreme are those texts which have
only referential and/or phatic purposes (science text book,
dictionary definition) Their GPP is not lexico-grammatically
realized.
II- Logos or Cognitive Engagement: Models of
Argument
Cognitive Engagement refers to the efforts of a persuader
(intuitively or deliberately) to use the whole range of resources
represented by these schemata for maximal effect 216.
Aristotle identified three classes of argument used in all
major rhetorical genres: 82
1- that something is possible or impossible (for political
deliberation)
2- that it has occurred in the past or may occur in the future
(for legal rhetoric)
3- it is greater or smaller than something else (for the
rhetoric of praise or blame)
The ten models of argument are: 82
1- Definition:
2- Cause and Effect:
3- Similarity:
4- Degree
5- Oppositional
6- Testimony
7- Genius/Species
8- Part/Whole

9- Associational
10Root Meaning
These models (topos) comprise an inevitable bank of
resources accessible to any persuader. They can be selected,
matched and adjusted to the concerns and expectations of a
specific audience. 83
In this regard, reference should be made to the Schema
theory: a methodology which enables the persuader to focus
on cognitive approaches to argument. (83)
Within cognitive theory, Schank and others argue that human
beings make sense of experiences not by referring to specific
memory traces from particular happenings, but by relating
each new event to recurring experiences of a particular kind,
echoed in a distinctive pattern within the memory (i.e. a
schema) 84
Through neural networks, patterns of expectation are aroused
every time we use or respond to language (spoken or written)
in situations we have previously experienced and remember.
Such patterns of expectation relate to our recognition of types
of arguments, as well as the patterning of familiar social
interactions such as consulting a doctor..
In the field of persuasion, an awareness of these networks of
schemata can help us to guestimate the mindset and
susceptibility of our audience, thus increasing our persuasive
opportunities as well as responsibilities. Such deliberate
cognitive involvement with the likely patterns of memory
and expectations in any given audience enables the persuader
to a adapt general models of argument to particular
circumstance
The main categories of schemata are:
Plans; goals; themes; scenes; scripts; memory organization
packets (MOPs); Meta MOPs; Thematic Organization Points
(TOPs).

The point is there is no need for lengthy checklist of topoi

By using cognitive engagement, the persuader can make a
focused application of the general models of argument to the
particular circumstances of the persuade. 84
1- Definition Model of Argument (85): It is the
narrowing down the generalization into a precise meaning.
Aristotles model of definition entails that any idea or thing that
requires definitions (1) must be assigned to a general category
(genus); (2) must be differentiated by a unique feature that
makes it distinct from other members.
2- Cause and Effect Model of Argument (87-88): It is
central to all persuasive discourse and its structure is inherently
dialectical a two way process of argument. It can be segmented
into (88):
a- a simple cause usually produces a simple or complex
effect;
b- a complex cause may lead to a simple effect.
c- a complex cause may have a complex effect
Following Aristotle, there are four types of causes (88):
1- final cause: the purpose for which something exists or the
end to which an action is directed
2- formal cause that makes something itself
3- Material cause: the physical materials or conditions essential
for existence (89)
4- Efficient cause/instrumental cause: the agency that brings
something about
3- Similarity Model of Argument: 91
it is often vital to establish whether A is comparable with
B.

Cognitively, the intuitive perception of Similarity enables us

to link every object situation, or event we encounter with one or
more of our memory-based schemata; in the context of
persuasion we may need to examine, qualify, assert and/or
exploit this similarity.
Once similarity is perceived, thematic qualities are
recognized. It is associated with the figurative use of language.
4- Oppositional Model of Argument: 93
the opposite of the Similarity Topos, it represents the
syllogistic (either/or) patterns of thought. It can be a valid way
of stirring up debate through deliberate provocation. Subvarieties of the oppositional model of argument include contraries
(good/bad); contradictions (good/not good); privatives
(sighted/blind); relatives (parent/child).
5- The Degree Model of Argument: 96
It is related to the Similarity and Oppositional models. It
applies where two things or people possessing the same quality
are compared but to differing degrees. It is a qualitative
argument where A is fairer/more profitable/cheaper/better than
B.
6- Testimony Model of Argument: 97
it was always regarded as the weakest of the models
because it depends on the credibility of a witness and is not
inherently reliable. However testimony is highly valued when it
come from a genuine specialist knowledge or when it is a firsthand account of material events.
7- The Genus/Species Model of Argument 98-99

it typically starts with a generalization (Genus) or an

assumption followed by a particularization (Species). In terms of
cognitive networks, generalization, that is grouping things
together, is used to predict characteristics and particularization
works to limit this predictability.
8- Part/Whole Model of Argument
The part of something can only be understood fully in
relation to the whole . in our increasingly complex society, we
acquire extended cognitive schemata ,,,that package multiple
scripts and scenes to describe complicated entities 101.
Evaluating one part requires relating it to the whole.
9- Associational Model of Argument: 103
It attempts the audience to make false logical and ethical
assumptions. Yet it is often used in arguments or qualitative
issues.
There are four main varieties of this model:
1- Subject/Adjunct Association: Adjunct means an adjoined
attribute, quality or condition associated with a definable subject;
2- Lifestyle/Status association: where the individuals
lifestyle reflects his status accorded from everything starting from
house, car, clothes
3- Place/function where the place entails the function
4- Time/activity where the time or age entails the activity
which reflects peoples expectations and social rituals.
10- Root Meaning Model of Argument 106
It does not only express logical concepts through the
received meanings of words but seeks alternative meanings and
arguments in the origins of words themselves.
III- Emotional Engagement:

In this stage there is an actualization of the emotion by

the persuader, who needs to arouse in an audience emotions
of appropriate intensity, clarity and sharpness of focus (56)
Emotion Actualisation:
a- Graphic Vividness:
Answering the question how exactly does the persuader use
emotion to move his audience?, Cockcroft and Cockcroft state
that it is a matter of representation and perception, whether
achieved conceptually, or by evoking sense impressions and using
enargeia that is clarity or vividness, as stated by Quintilian
(1920) who reiterates that before we can move others to
emotion we should feel it ourselves. To achieve this desirable
effect through enargeia, skilled orators used their imagination
(fantasia) to create pictures for the audience in which emotion
was inherent (61-62).
This involves the use of graphic language (appealing directly
to the senses) to recreate the scene.
Logos or Cognitive Engagement/ Modeling arguments:
b- Emotive Abstraction: focusing on abstract concepts
with strongly positive or negative connotations, reflecting
communal experience, common values and aspirations, arousing
hence powerful emotions.
It should be noted however that emotion is aroused through
conceptual process and hence a logical argument is made.
As indicated by Nash (1989), the arousal of feeling involves
the use of argument and repetition and it is through these
means, together with associated stylistic patterns such as
antithesis and rhythmic structures, that a powerful interaction is
established between persuader and audience. (64)

 VI- Repertoire of Persuasion Figures of Rhetoric

It includes sound patterning, tropes and schemes:
(Cockcroft & Cockcroft 2004; Hall 2012;
http://www.speaklikeapro.co.uk)
1- Sound Patterning:
1. ALLITERATION repeating the same sound or letter at the
beginning of several words in sequence.
2. ANAPHORA repeats the same word or words at the beginning
of successive phrases, or sentences, often alongside CLIMAX
and PARALLELISM and using a TRICOLON.
3.
4. Assonance: is the successive use of syllables with the same or
similar vowel sounds in words with different consonants. It is
similar to rhyme, but can be used with similar sounding words
5. ASYNDETON is a lack of conjunctions (e.g. 'and') between
successive phrases or words.
6. TRICOLON is the use of words, phrases, examples, or the
beginnings or endings of phrases or sentences in threes.
7. Rhyme: repeating the sound in final position.
2- Trope or Figurative Language
1. metonymy: when one thing is closely associated with another..
it can be substituted for it so as to create meaning. The thing
that is referred to is missing yet its presence is implied. Hall
P.56 Associational Model of Argument
2. Synecdoche: bring a part of something to stand for the whole
thing or the whole thing to stand for the part. Part/Whole &
Genus/Species Models of Argument.
3. Irony: it is about opposites when one expresses a belief or
feeling that is at odds with what they are saying on the
surface. Oppositional Model of Argument.

4. Metaphor: there is an implied comparison between similar or

dissimilar things that share a certain quality when linking
something familiar with something unfamiliar. Associational
Model of Argument.
3- Schemes or schematic language:
A classical rhetorical term applied to an arrangement or
structure:
1. Anti-thesis: when 2 words or sentences are opposed in a
contrary relationship, magnifying and articulating persuasive
emotions and it is linked to Oppositional Model of Argument.
2. Pun and Word play
3. Parallelism used to add emphasis clarity balance and
cumulative weight they convey the spontaneous energy of
deep feeling or conviction.
4. Repetition: major source of schematic rhetoric created by a
repeated word or the rhythm created by repeated phrases.
5. Amplification or Diminution: used to develop an argument in
detail or shorten it, to enhance the importance of the subject
or to denigrate it. Either can produce powerful persuasive
effects often involving the use of tropes. They are related to
Pathos and Logos
VII- Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST):
RST is intended to describe texts. According to RST
principles, coherent texts consist of functionally significant text
units, or in RST terms, spans, which are linked to each other,
recursively, through rhetorical relations. Some spans are more
central to the texts purpose (nucleus), whereas others are
secondary (satellites).
Each relation is defined in terms of
- constraints on a spans nucleus and satellite(s) individually
and in combination
- the possible intended effect the writer or speakers wants to
have upon his/her audience.

The relation can be symmetrical: Nuclear + Nuclear

(multinuclear) or asymmetrical: Nuclear + Satellite
There are finite set of relations that hold between pairs of
spans of text.
Relations are of different types:
1- Subject matter: they relate the content of the text spans
Examples: Cause, Purpose, Condition, Summary
2- Presentational: more rhetorical in nature. They are
meant to achieve some effect on the audience. Examples
include Motivation, Antithesis, Background, Evidence, Preparation

Visualizations in communication have a long history, dating

back to the 19th century, but reaching their climax with the
digitalization of communication. Today, hardly any public
presentation of science fails to employ computer-based
visualization tools or shareware, most often PowerPoint. The
integration of visualization devices has enabled the evolution of a
new for- mat of scientific presentation, which enriches speech
with visual modes of communication such as pictures, audiovisual materials, or written text, and integrates technical devices
into spoken discourse (Lobin, 2009; Peters, 2007).

From the perspective of knowledge transfer, this

mediatization of science communication has evoked some
fundamental criticism, most notably by the information designer
Edward Tufte. In his 2003 publication, Powerpoint Is Evil, he
criticizes the cognitive style of PowerPoint, which routinely
disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content and elevates format
over content, betraying an attitude of commercialism that turns
everything into a sales pitch.
In the eyes of a second group of authors, PowerPoint-based
presentations open a new chapter in the debate on the relation of
ratio and rhetoric, which is a perennial issue in the history of
rhetoric itself. At the centre of this debate lies the suspicion that
rhetorical skills tend to obscure the evidence of a statement and
therefore per se are always in danger of turning speech into
propaganda. Therefore these critics allege that PowerPoint turns
scientific argumentation into persuasion, thus violating the
principles of rational discourse (Peters, 2007; Schnettler and
Knoblauch, 2007; Turkle, 2003).
In contrast to this PowerPoint scepticism, a third group, the
PowerPoint optimists, argues its potential for more interactive
knowledge transmission and learning processes (Gabriel, 2008)
and formulates psychological principles for designing audienceoriented presentations (Kosslyn, 2007). These authors see
PowerPoint presentations as a new visual rhetoric which is likely
to become a pervasive feature of public life (Stark and Paravel,
2008: 50).

A fourth branch of research analyses scientific presentations

as a genre of communication or a type of discourse whose
structure is determined by the accompanying visual channel, the
interactional context and the integration of technical devices into
spoken language (Knoblauch, 2008; Lobin, 2009; Rowley-Jolivet,
2004). A common feature of this approach is an expansion of the
perspective, in which the analysis of presentations is not
restricted solely to the slides or software, but instead focuses on
the performance of speaker and audience while acting and
participating in PowerPoint presentations. Behind the notion of
performance stands the idea that meaning cannot be deduced
from single elements of communication for example, the slides
in a presentation but is created in the enactment of the
participants and their situational use of communicative means like
speech, gestures, referring and pointing actions, and visual
material. Even the design or type of the slides and the
synchronization of what is said and what is shown can have an
impact on the meaning-making process. The methodology of the
research presented here is based on a performative conception of
scientific presentations. These presentations are treated as a
type of complex communicative action, which, in view of
the different types of signs employed, is best characterized
as multi- modal (Bucher, 2011; Kress, 2010; Kress and Van
Leeuwen, 2001).

We conceptualize scientific presentations as a multimodal

genre or discourse type in which all the different symbolic
resources like speech, text, pictures, graphics, design,
intonation, pointing activities, and so on are used to
accomplish an overall meaning. The orchestration of the
multimodal arrangement of a presentation happens in
three different modal domains: the visual domain of the
slides, the verbal domain of speech, and the performative
domain of gestures and pointing (see Bucher, 2011;
Bucher et al., 2010).

At the same time, the coherence of a scientific presentation

also has a sequential logic, namely the linear order of the speech
and the progression of the slides or their animations. This idea is
very similar to the distinction between phases and transitions
that Baldry and Thibault propose for a multimodal analysis of
films (Baldry and Thibault, 2005: 4750).
In PowerPoint presentations, we can define a phase as the
segment of communication that is limited by the fade-in and
fade-out of a single slide.
There is a problem of compositionality: What, specifically,
does each of the individual modes contribute to the overall
meaning of a discourse and how do they interact?

Rowley-Jolivet, ELIZABETH: Different visions,

different visuals
Visual Communication Vol 3(2): 145175 [14703572(200406)3:2; 145175]

one of the most serious, the most highly valued kinds of

speech, is the oral presentation of research at scientific
conferences. This research genre, which has received little
attention so far, in fact forms an important stage in the
construction of scientific facts and in the network of scientific
communication (Ventola et al., 2002). In this genre, visual
communication is all-important: slides or transparencies are
shown continuously throughout the speakers monologue, and
presentations consist to a large extent of a running commentary
on these visuals. A contextualized account of how visual
resources are used in this particular communicative event can
therefore make a significant contribution to our understanding of
scientific communication.

The conference presentation has its own constraints,

however, related on the one hand to the limited time available
and, on the other hand, to the participants; both of these factors
lead to visual communication being more important than in the
research article. Time is a precious commodity in conference
presentations, with most papers limited to 1015 minutes. As
several studies have shown, the visual semiotic is
communicatively and cognitively more efficient than language for
certain functions: patterns are more easily and rapidly perceived
when presented in a visual form rather than as tables or text
(Krohn, 1991; Smith et al., 2000); diagrams have an enhanced
computational power, compared to text, because they allow
several attributes to be searched simultaneously, speeding up
mental processing (Larkin and Simon, 1987); as a result,
conference visuals can contain more information than the verbal
channel with no loss in communication (Ochs and Jacoby, 1997).
This gives visual communication a valuable advantage over verbal
communication in the conference context.
The presentations are audio-visual texts of a rather
particular kind: the verbal track is formed by the speakers
uninterrupted oral commentary, and the visual track by an
unbroken succession of stills the slides or
transparencies projected onto the screen. To fulfil the
communicative purpose of the research presentation, the
conjunctive relations between the two tracks need to be
close and continuous, for as Roth and Bowen (2000) have
shown, whenever mismatches or dcalages occur
between the two channels in expository discourse, this
slows down or hinders comprehension. In addition, within
each track the logical relations also need to follow a
coherent development in order to construct the speakers
claim. (157)

In the time dimension, the dominant relationship

between the verbal and the visual channels is therefore
one of synchronicity: the information is presented in
successive units or packets, each of which includes a
visual and a verbal component. The co-existence of the
two channels creates a single textual space in which all
references to the visual should be considered as
endophoric, and which has to be processed as an
integrated whole by the audience. The speaker, in turn,
has to ensure that his verbal commentary is synchronized
with, and relevant to, the visual channel. As the talk
progresses from introduction to material and methods, to
results and then discussion, there is a parallel progression
in the visual channel, which provides data or evidence to
support the argument. This close correlation between the
two tracks implies that an expert reader of the visual
language that is used should be able to perceive the logical
argument and coherence of the presentation from the
visual track. (157-8)
Four types of visuals are established on the basis of two
criteria: the semiotic used (linguistic, mathematical, or visual)
and, for the visual semiotic, monosemic vs polysemic visuals. The
four visual types are:
Scriptural ( Linguistic)
Numerical (Mathematical)
Figurative I & II (Visual)
Graphic (Visual)
(149-150)
The genre I am working belongs to Sales Presentation where
the presenters are trying to sell their projects and team.
ENACTUS stands for
entrepreneurialhaving the perspective to see an
opportunity and the talent to create value from that opportunity;

actionthe willingness to do something and the

commitment to see it through even when the outcome is not
guaranteed;
usa group of people who see themselves connected in
some important way; individuals that are part of a greater whole.

Enactus is an international organization that brings together

student, academic and business leaders who are committed to
using the power of entrepreneurial action to enable progress
around the world.
Guided by faculty advisors and business experts,
participating students form teams on their campuses to create
and implement community projects that empower people to
improve their quality of life and standard of living.
The experience not only transforms lives, it helps students
develop the kind of talent and perspective that are essential to
becoming effective, values-driven leaders.
An annual series of regional and national competitions
provides a forum for teams to showcase the impact of their
outreach efforts, and to be evaluated by executives serving as
judges.
National champion teams advance to the prestigious World
Cup. In addition to the community aspect of the program, our
leadership and career initiatives create meaningful opportunities
for cross-generational learning and exchange as well as the
placement of students and alumni with companies in search of
emerging talent.

The National Champion Team from each country will be

invited to compete at the SIFE World Cup. This competition allows
teams to showcase their achievements in the most recent
Program Year and enables an opportunity for best practice
sharing. Similar to other competitions, the judges will determine
which team(s) did the best job in fulfilling the criterion. The
winning team will be named the SIFE World Cup Champion.

The SIFE program year ends with an annual competitive

event.This process provides teams with the opportunity to
present their outreach efforts to a panel of judges who evaluate
those efforts and determine which teams had the most impact
improving the quality of life and standard of living for members of
their community. This competitive process creates a bestpractice sharing environment and fosters a healthy spirit of
competition, which encourages and rewards excellence.
Every country that operates a SIFE program, at minimum,
organizes a national competition, from which one institution is
named national champion and advances to compete at the SIFE
World Cup.
Each competing team is asked to make a live presentation
along with presenting an annual report and other written forms
and
Live Presentation
Up till 2012 Each competing team had a 37-minute time
block for its live presentation. The time was precisely divided as
outlined below.
Live Presentation Time-Block
7 minutes (set-up period)
24 minutes (live presentation
5 minutes (question & answer session)
1 minutes (exit period)

the data of the study is extracted from the live

presentation only.
During each presentation, judges will assess the quality and
sustainability of the SIFE teams initiatives and its impact in
relation to the SIFE criterion, using the Individual Team
Evaluation Form (ITEF) to take notes and select assessment
ratings. The ITEF is used as the key assessment tool during
presentations and also serves as the primary form of feedback to
teams on their performance.
Judges use the Cumulative Evaluation Form (CEF) to actually
assess teams which then serve as the guide and key deciding
factor in making their final decisions on rankings.
SIFE Judging Criterion:
Considering the relevant economic, social and
environmental factors, which team most effectively empowered
people in need by applying business and economic concepts and
an entrepreneurial approach to improve their quality of life and
standard of living?
In the ITEF, Judges have to adhere to five Elements
evaluated whether the team in carrying out its project
1- Consider the relevant economic, social and
environmental factors?
2- Effectively empower its target audience(s)?
3. Target people in need?
4. Apply business and economic concepts and an
entrepreneurial approach?
5. Improve the quality of life and standard of living for
its project beneficiaries?

Key components of presentations include the Annual Report,

audio/visual presentation, verbal presentation, and the degree of
professionalism with whichyou represent your team and SIFE.
There should be a naturalsynergy, flow, and alignment between
your Annual Report, audio/ visual presentation, and verbal
presentation. Its important to ensure that your team members
who are managing the creation of your presentation work
together to ensure this synergy and flow exist.

The presentation has a structure that is suggested in the

Enactus Handbook as follows:

OPENING:
I. Institution and Community Demographics
- Describe the demographics of your community and any
unique facts. You want the judges to understand where you are
from and the setting of your community.
- Describe your college or university and mention any unique
facts. You want the judges to understand your environment and
situation.
II. Team History
- Briefly describe the history and/or inception of your team.
A timeline is a helpful tool in this step.
III. Team Mission and Goals
- State your teams mission and reason for existence.
- Describe the goals you set for your team to accomplish this
year.

PROOF
IV. Description of Projects
For each of your teams projects, describe the following
details:

A. Project Need: State why the project participants need to

be engaged in this project in order to be successful. Good
projects address a definable need. Describe the need fulfilled by
the project.
B. Consideration of Relevant Economic, Social, and
Environmental Factors: Explain to the judges that your team did
indeed consider all three factors, but then decided to address
one, two, or three out of the three, since it was most applicable
to the project at its current phase. Be sure to emphasize and
prove that you indeed did consider all three. This is essential.
C. Project Description: Simply describe the various phases of
the project. Remember to also describe the area of focus for the
project and the approaches used during the project
implementation phase business, economic, and entrepreneurial
approaches.
D. Measurement of Outcomes: Answer the question, Was
this project successful? and prove it. It is critical that you prove
how you have empowered people in need and improved their
quality of life and standard of living.
V. Program Sustainability
A. Recruiting and Team Organization1. Describe how your
team is organized.2. Describe the recruiting plan your team uses.
3. Describe any unique programs you use to recruit and
maintain students.
B. Team Succession Plan
- Describe the succession plan your team has created to
ensure your teams success during years of transition.
- Describe how your team uses a transition notebook to help
train new team leaders.
C- Institutional/Administrative Support
Describe the level of support you receive from your
institution and administration.
Describe the ways in which you involve your institution and
administration in your projects and yearly activities.

Describe any outstanding opportunities you have received as

a result of the administrative and institutional support you
receive.
D- Business Advisory Board (BAB)
Describe your BAB in terms of size and expertise.
Describe the role of your BAB and explain how BAB
members have contributed to your projects.
Describe your plans to increase the involvement of the BAB
with your team.
E- Funding
Describe your teams funding efforts.
Describe the plan you have to build a budget that will
support your teams activities for several years.
Develop an income statement for your team and be
prepared to share details with the judges.
F. Alumni1. Describe how you involve Enactus alumni in your
projects. 2. Describe how you work with the alumni from your
team and how you involve them.
G. Media
1. Describe how you involve the media to help publicize your
teams projects and activities.
2. Describe any outstanding opportunities your team has
received as a result of the media attention.

CONCLUSION
VI. Closing
A. Goals for Next Year - Describe your teams major goals to
accomplish next year. Include your plans to expand current
projects or add new projects. This is the time to show the
sustainability of your program.
B. Final Remarks - Describe your teams long term goals for
sustaining and/building upon meaningful impact related to the
judging criterion. Remember to clearly identify that the next
phases are all anticipated and results not yet achieved. The
judges will see several annual reports and presentations during
an Enactus competition - make sure they

remember yours

The Annual Report and presentation are, in essence, the

teams attempt to convince the judges that your SIFE team did
the best job of considering the relevant economic, social and
environmental factors; using an entrepreneurial approach; and
improving constituents quality of life and standard of living. If
great products sold themselves, we would not have sales
people. Sell your team!

Teams are advised to Use the Language & Structure of

the Individual Team Evaluation Form (ITEF)
Consider integrating some of the language used on the ITEF
into your presentation script. Also consider usinga presentation
structure which is linked to the judging elements on the ITEF. This
may create a better and more fluid presentation, making it easier
for the judges to follow your story in a logical and organized
manner.
4. Focus on Outcomes!
SIFE competitions are about results achieved in the field.
Make sure you show how your projects have really impacted the
quality of life and standard of living of the people you have
worked with.
5. But...Explain your Method

However, you do need to spend time explaining how you

arrived at those outcomes. The SIFE criterion encompasses
several essential elements which should be featured in any
successful SIFE project (Did you target people in need?Did you
apply economic and business concepts and an entrepreneurial
approach? Etc.) Judges want to hear what strategy (and/or
tactics) you employed and which evaluation tools you used to
successfully conduct your projects and track its impact, all while
using the criterion as your guiding principle.
6. Simplify Things
Keep the structure of your presentation as simple as
possible. Imagine you had only one minute to explain your
project to someone; what would you tell them? Starting from this
basic premise will help to ensure that you explain the core of
what your project is about.
Tell the Story of One Individual
Personalize your project stories. SIFE judges would like to
know what the individuals in your projects experienced. How has
your project changed the lives of your participants? What was
their situation before and after your project? Try to show in your
presentation how the people you impacted are now enjoying an
improved quality of life and standard of living because of your
project. Include testimonials.
Be Clear about your Partnerships
If your team has worked in partnership with other
organizations or other SIFE teams, it is important that you clearly
indicate exactly what your role has been during the different
stages of this project. Judges need to understand what your
added value has been, versus what your project partners have
contributed.
I- Data: two presentations delivered by the teams of French
University in Egypt (UFE) and Belmont University in USA.

The text of presentation is made of utterances synchronized

with still and moving slides that may show graphics or videos or
pictures. There is also Music, which is either playback or played
live as part of the text.
Egyptian team:
- Sequential utterances in synchronization with Visual Still
Slides that fades in and out and live Music (violin)
American Team:
- Sequential utterances in synchronization with Videos, Still
slides, music playback
Teams are not assessed on their presentations but on their
projects. Thats why we say the teams sell their projects.
II- Speech Event Analysis
Dell Hymes's SPEAKING Model
Background
Sociolinguist Dell Hymes developed the following model to
promote the analysis of discourse as a series of speech events
and speech acts within a cultural context. It uses the first letters
of terms for speech components; the categories are so productive
and powerful in analysis that you can use this model to analyze
many different kinds of discourse.
The SPEAKING Model
(S)etting and Scene
"Setting refers to the time and place of a speech act and, in
general, to the physical circumstances" (Hymes 55).

World Cup Competition that was held in on . As

shown team members stand at the stage they are provided with
all technical facilities.
As for time each competing team had a 37-minute time
block for its live presentation. Live Presentation Time-Block
7 minutes (set-up period)
24 minutes (live presentation)
5 minutes (question & answer session)
1 minutes (exit period)
Scene is the "psychological setting" or "cultural definition". It
is characterized by a high degree of stress and competition
Key components of presentations include the Annual Report,
audio/visual presentation, and verbal presentation.

(P)articipants
Speaker : National Team of university students representing
their country
Audience: Judges whose role is to assess the quality and
sustainability of the teams initiatives and its impact. Judges
have to adhere to five Elements evaluated whether the team in
carrying out its project
1- Consider the relevant economic, social and
environmental factors?
2- Effectively empower its target audience(s)?
3. Target people in need?
4. Apply business and economic concepts and an
entrepreneurial approach?
5. Improve the quality of life and standard of living for
its project beneficiaries?
(E)nds

Purposes, goals, and outcomes (Hymes 56-57).

The Annual Report and presentation are, in essence, the
teams attempt to convince the judges that your SIFE team did
the best job of considering the relevant economic, social and
environmental factors; using an entrepreneurial approach; and
improving constituents quality of life and standard of living. If
great products sold themselves, we would not have sales
people. Sell your team!

(A)ct Sequence
Form and order of the event.
The presentation has a structure that is suggested in the
Enactus Handbook as follows:
OPENING:
I. Institution and Community Demographics
II. Team History
III. Team Mission and Goals
PROOF
IV. Description of Projects
For each of your teams projects, describe the following
details:
A. Project Need:
B. Consideration of Relevant Economic, Social, and
Environmental Factors:
C. Project Description:
D. Measurement of Outcomes:
V. Program Sustainability
A. Recruiting and Team Organization

B. Team Succession Plan

C- Institutional/Administrative Support
D- Business Advisory Board (BAB)
E- Funding
F. Alumni.
G. Media
CONCLUSION
VI. Closing
A. Goals for Next Year B. Final Remarks - Describe your teams long term goals for
sustaining and/building upon meaningful impact related to the
judging criterion. Remember to clearly identify that the next
phases are all anticipated and results not yet achieved. The
judges will see several annual reports and presentations during
an Enactus competition - make sure they
remember yours

(K)ey
Cues that establish the "tone, manner, or spirit" of the
speech act (Hymes 57). the degree of professionalism with which
you represent your team and SIFE. There should be a natural
synergy, flow, and alignment between audio/ visual presentation,
and verbal presentation.
(I)nstrumentalities
Forms and styles of speech (Hymes 58-60). The rhetorical
devices used including models of argument, and figures of
rhetoric.
(N)orms
Social rules governing the event and the participants' actions
and reaction.
(G)enre

The kind of speech act or event; a soft-sell sales

presentation

Hymes, Dell. Foundations of Sociolinguistics: An

Ethnographic Approach. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P,
1974.
II- procedures of data analysis
Top-Down Analysis made of Two Levels:
Macro-Structure: A Panoramic; A Birds Eye View
To reveal the Generic Persuasive Potential, i.e. structure and
ordering of the presentation, as part of the persuasive process,
the presentation Text of each team is divided into:
- Obligatory Elements realized through
- one or more Optional Elements
Micro-Structure
To unveil appeals to Logos and Pathos, Texts of optional elements
are segmented into Verbal/Visual Spans, i.e. utterances and
slides to find out:
1- Models of Argument as represented by rhetorical relations
between verbal/visuals spans using RST tool
2- Figures of Rhetoric: Tropes and Schemes in verbal spans