seminar regarding sexual harassment at workplaces. Because, to quote her words, "It's not the first time someone faked a boyfriend and drafted a steaming conversation with that fake boyfriend to avoid the accusation of sexual harassment." "Did you tell Janice that it's not what it looks like? That's what I told my wife when her sister was wiping the wine she spilled off my crotch." Yes, I did, Recently Divorcé With A Dubious Story. Be careful, my dear students, not every situation can be solved with the phrase "It is not what it looks like”. Your intention can be easily misread by others from its appearance. That being said, the message within Engaging Cowardice can also be misunderstood by receivers based on its presentation since it is the outer layer of Engaging Cowardice. On the other hand, the right presentation execution can enhance the effectiveness of the cognitive process, and guide the logic tracing to our desired direction.

 

When I first presented my work, #NotYourDayYet, in a setting of..."Excuse me, professor, I think you might have gone overboard with my request on sharing more of your works. I would like to hear other professional examples from now on." Too late, Asian Girl With Caucasian Boyfriend. As I was saying, when I first presented my illustration, #NotYourDayYet, in a setting of a Christian altar with a Church choir playing in the background, my intention was to create a sense of holiness in contrast to the ridiculousness of the content in my illustration, which was illustrated in the fashion of stained glass. Despite the effort I made, the audience was steered in the opposite direction than I expected. Some said their minds were instantly filled with many associations of Christianity at the first sight of the setting. One even had a disturbing association, regarding the infamous molestation of altar boys in Christian churches, based on the construction of the illustration and the background choir. The fact that over 50% of the audience were European who grew up in a more Christian-ingrained environment than I did, has created an unintended impression of my work. To them, the setting didn't just stop at a sense of holiness but it evoked more profound cultural connections. In the end, these profound cultural connections overshadowed whatever potential connections they may have had. People have specific connections towards different forms of presentation. Like social norms, they are also part of our rule books. So you see, class, when the first impression takes root, it's hard to uproot it with a simple phrase "It's Not What It Looks Like." The veil between your intention and the perception of others is dangerously thin, especially when you practice Engaging Cowardice with a sense of sarcasm. If your sarcastic tone is not delivered through your presentation, people will assume that you believe in what you present.

 

"Dear Lord, are you telling me that how the presentation is translated also depends on receivers? Then why are we even taking this class? It's hopeless, y'all." Yes and no, Czech Who Doesn't Drink Beer. Indeed, we cannot control how receivers react to our presentation based on their cultural part of rule books. However, we can take back some control by identifying who we present to. By doing so, we can think through potential cultural connections they may have regarding our presentation. Are they Christians? Does the color white mean joy or death to them? Do words like fruit and fairy mean something different to them? It is still possible to limit the angle of the derailment of cultural connections if you pay attention to these details. Furthermore, unlike social norms which are evolved from experience and knowledge that can differ from individuals and cultures, the rules and traits of individual presentation forms are consistent regardless of the identity of receivers. For example, you can pause and rewind with online videos whenever you want but you won't have the luxury with cable TV. Comparing to audiences on Netflix, audiences at a theater have less control over the presentation but they make a deeper commitment to the receiving of the presentation than the audience on stream services. Stand-up comedy is more interactive and tolerable for occasional silence while sketch videos on SNL are one-way communication and less tolerable for tedious scenes. If the sketches you present have been through table reads and few rehearsals, people will hold a higher standard than a spontaneous stand-up comedy. "There are various reasons why a receiver prefers any one mode of communication for entertainment delivery, such as time and commitment, level of decoding, level of sensory reconstruction." All in all, knowing the nature of your chosen presentation forms of Engaging Cowardice will be in your favor on gaining more control over the cognitive process of the receivers.

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"Sorry to interrupt, man. But have you considered a digital version of this course? Many of my followers are mad interested in this course after they saw my post on Instagram. I mean, it shouldn't make too much difference if the lessons are in written form instead of audial, right?" I thought I had disconnected the router. How did you get back on Instagram, African American Who Doesn't Act Black Enough? "Hello, cellular data? Duh." Fair enough. However, if you have paid close attention to what we have discussed a few minutes ago, you would not be asking this question. Of course, there is a difference. But to what extend? Let me break down the presentation forms into the primary categories before we explore further. If we categorize them by media, there are visual presentation (images and motions), audial presentation (sounds and spoken verbal), and written verbal presentation (words). If we categorize by how receivers experience the presentation, there are digital presentation and analog presentation. "Professor, if you want to categorize them into digital and analog, shouldn't it be based on if receivers and sources of Engaging Cowardice are in the same space?" Critical thinking, Czech Who Doesn't Drink Beer. That sober mind of yours really pays off. Allow me to give you an example. If you are sending this text "I wish I drink. It's hard to be sober in this conversation." to your friend next to you at a dinner party, she will experience your Engaging Cowardice presentation through a digital device even though she is physically next to you in the same room. So you see, what matters is the way receivers experience instead of where the delivery and the receiving take place.

 

Cognitive process is the first thing that we need to talk about when it comes to different media. Different media require varied levels of cognitive process. "Our senses are stimulated by audio and visual cues that raise our attention level. When we read, we’re doing all the decoding and sensory reconstruction ourselves." Vision and hearing are the two primary senses that help us perceive and experience the world. Written words, on the other hand, are codes we use to document our experience and perception. When receivers engage in written verbal presentations, they must go through the decoding process before they can start comparing the information they acquire to their rule books. However, with visual and audial presentations, receivers can skip the decoding process right away, that is, if no spoken verbal is involved. Not to mention that, in written verbal presentation, receivers also need to construct an image with visual and audial information in their mind based on their rule books, which might be distinct to the image that we intended to construct. With that being said, written verbal presentations require a higher level of cognitive process, comparing to visual and audial ones. It also means receivers have more possible interpretations of our Engaging Cowardice. "Cognitive requirements increase when we go from showing incongruity to saying things that are incongruous." Between visual and verbal presentations, written or spoken, verbal presentations require a higher level of cognitive process since languages create additional decoding processes. Furthermore, language itself is already a big chapter in our rule books. It's packed with idioms, catchphrases, cliches, quotes, expressions, lyrics, and so on. They can be well-known as well as exclusive among individuals regarding different regions, generations, or personalities. Try to translate Bart Simpson's catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" into Mandarin Chinese and explain it to your Korean-drama-enthusiastic mother. It's a real treat. 

 

So far, you may have thought that verbal presentations are the worst choice for Engaging Cowardice. However, there are still pros about them despite all the cons we mentioned. "For centuries, portable humor was limited almost exclusively to the linguistic joke." Before digital devices were invented to shorten our attention spans and ruin your dinner date with the rule cameras eat first, verbal presentations were the most common choices for Engaging Cowardice, mostly due to their traits of being easily reproduced and distributed. Also, one needs no specific skills to practice verbal presentation as long as he/she knows the language to construct presentations. It's worth mentioning, especially for people who enjoy sarcastic verbal presentations, spoken verbal presentations convert the attitude and words simultaneously. On the contrary, written verbal presentations rely on receivers to construct the attitude themselves based on the context of the presentation.

 

Due to the development of technology, many analog presentations can be transformed into digital presentations in forms such as videos, pictures, or audio recordings. Yet, one trait that digital presentations can not convey from analog presentations is the commitment of the physical presence of receivers. What does it mean then? Being physically present means receivers are willing to invest their time and pay more attention to the presentation. With higher attention, receivers can narrow down the potential derailment angles of the cognitive process. Additionally. with the requirement of physical presence, receivers will experience and interact with the environment where presentations take place. Wise Engaging Cowardice practitioners will use it as their advantage to enhance the experience as well as creating an atmosphere to guide the cognitive process into their desired direction. "When someone speaks to us directly, we assume an active role in the communication. When we observe comedy from the interaction of characters who do not acknowledge our presence, we take on a more passive role." Analog presentations also have higher possibilities for instant interaction between the source of Engaging Cowardice and the receivers, or even between receivers. Take SNL for example. There are two kinds of audiences of SNL, the ones at the live set (analog) and the ones watching live remotely through devices (digital). At the set, the source of the presentation can sense instant feedback about their acts through the expressions of the audiences, which may affect the presentation positively or negatively. For instance, when someone at the audience makes a burst of hysterical laughter, performers may break their characters and laugh as well. As a result, it encourages more laughter in the audiences, whether on set or watching remotely. The possible instant interaction between audiences at analog presentations can accelerate the cognitive process as well. If other people in the audience react to certain acts, it is an indication of incongruity which pushes receivers to take out the rule book and start the cognitive process. You might have missed the indication if you experience it alone and find out later in the comment section. Even though streaming service has provided digital presentation a higher possibility of instant interaction between the source and the receivers, it is still limited to written verbal and simple graphic interaction. They also require a certain amount of decoding that may distract the source from the presentation. However, a better chance for instant interaction also means a better chance for instant confrontation. In this case, you will need quick wit and strong logic to support and defend your Engaging Cowardice presentation. 

 

Audiences might have taken on a passive role as observers in digital presentations, but they can take on an active role as redistributors or even become sources of Engaging Cowardice themselves. When it comes to digital presentations, one can not ignore their irreplaceable traits of easy distribution and massive (re)production. It takes less effort to recreate an exact presentation and distribute it to others digitally. In other words, digital presentations spread faster, and effortlessly maintain their original content. With this quality, audiences sometimes become a source of Engaging Cowardice. For example, if you share an SNL video, which satirizes the idea of peer pressure, on Facebook with a caption "Love being pressured to drink beer at parties because I am Czech.", you become the source of another Engaging Cowardice as well. It works with or without a caption because you will still be subtly expressing your opinion. The same goes for the comments people post on videos or articles. Digital presentations also make it easier to modify presentations, giving them new lives. Memes are the best examples of this phenomenon. However, adding to the quality of easy distribution and mass (re)production, for some presentations, it's hard to trace the original sources. Only God knows the first version of each meme. Oh, I almost forgot one important thing. Yes, African American Who Doesn't Act Black Enough, please tell your devoted followers that I do plan to open an online version of Engaging Cowardice 101. It will be mostly an archive of what happens during this class.