Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Wrapping up)

Last meeting, we were introduced to Dr. Robert Cialdini, a Psychology and Marketing professor at the Arizona State University and author of 1984 book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. 

Influence has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into twenty-six languages. It has been listed on the New York Times Business Best Seller List. Fortune Magazine lists Influence in their "75 Smartest Business Books." Harvard Business Review lists Dr. Cialdini's research in "Breakthrough Ideas for Today's Business Agenda" (Wikipedia)

We have covered 4 chapters so far (including the introduction), and the last 3 chapters (plus Epilogue) will be the subject of our class reporting on Saturday.

I have mentioned that your next TEST assignment will involve replicating one of the many social experiments (or anecdotes) conducted by Cialdini based on the 6 principles (Weapons of Influence) as narrated in his book, and test the result whether it applies to Filipino consumers (and if not, why not). Cialdini's principles are also summarized as the 6 Shortcuts to Persuasion:

1. Reciprocity
2. Commitment and Consistency
3. Social Proof
4. Authority
5. Liking
6. Scarcity

Please watch the 2 videos below for a summary of these 6 principles.

To make this exercise immediately useful, I encourage you to pick something that can help you with your Practicum (for Entrep students) in terms of sales and promotions. MM students should look at collaborating with other Entrep classes (or your Entrep groupmates) in conducting the exercise.

This particular TEST assignment is due on next Saturday, 21 February or until we have covered all 6 principles. I am giving you more time to prepare and perhaps adjust or improve your methods to suit your market. BUT- be prepared to propose an experiment on Feb 14.

You can do the experiment several times as long as you record the process and the results each time you do it.

Remember to do this FOR GOOD, and not for evil purpose. Remember to practice ethical behavior at all times.

Here is a personal example of a social experiment that I did back in 2009. It does not explicitly gave details of the 6 persuasion principles that I used but you can read them between the lines.

Group Assignments for Saturday, 14 February are as follows.

For links to the articles, click

Trends
Tools and Text
Think-Piece topics are as follows:

Fifty Shades of Grey Arouses Sex Toy Boom
Coke bets on premium milk 
2014 Top 10 YouTube Ads in PHL
Prudent Questions, Evasive Answers (What went wrong here?)
Get to know Kickstart
The Psychology of Shopping
Fortune 500 List 1955 vs 2014
Bringing an Entreprenuerial Mindset to the World's Failing Systems

Other Matters:

I have told you before that I volunteered as Community Ambassador for Hootsuite Media, Inc., a tech company that provides a social media management platform. Well, Hootsuite is recruiting for new ambassadors. There are many opportunities await you as an Ambassador for Hootsuite- free training, access to social media trends and strategies, and an opportunity to be part of a global community of social media users. This is also a good training ground for you if you plan on taking Social Media Marketing jobs in the future, or thinking of becoming a social media community manager yourself.

If you are a savvy online networker, enjoy sharing your social media knowledge and insight, or are simply passionate about social media, we invite you to apply to share your passion for Hootsuite by becoming a Hootsuite Ambassador.

If you are interested, follow me on Twitter @notty_romero and send a tweet stating why you want to be part of Hootsuite Ambassador program. I'll personally recommend the first 5 students to do so.

I have been asked last time in class what types of messages I am tweeting about. Well, here are my Top 7 topics:

• Marketing (and school-related) stuff
• Social Media stuff/ Hootsuite materials
• Internship and Job Opportunities that I come across with
• #Mindanao matters (as I am from Mindanao)
• Personal stuff - basically what I am doing 
• Political stuff and opinions in 140 characters
• Hot deals (promos and all)

I hope to see more of you in Twitter. 

Begin with the End in Mind: Consumer Behavior Assignments for 7 February

Here's something to motivate you. Let me share with you Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Habit 2 states, "Begin with the End in Mind".

Here's an excerpt, (in parentheses are mine):

So, what do you want to be when you grow up (or when you graduate)? That question may appear a little trite, but think about it for a moment. Are you--right now--who you want to be, what you dreamed you'd be, (capable of) doing what you always wanted to do? Be honest. Sometimes people find themselves achieving victories that are empty--successes that have come at the expense of things that were far more valuable to them. If your ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step you take gets you to the wrong place faster. 

Habit 2 is based on imagination--the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint.

If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. It's about connecting again with your own uniqueness and then defining the personal, moral, and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself.

Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, a task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles (see Habit 1) to make things happen. 

One of the best ways to incorporate Habit 2 into your life is to develop a Personal Mission Statement. It focuses on what you want to be and do. It is your plan for success. It reaffirms who you are, puts your goals in focus, and moves your ideas into the real world. Your mission statement makes you the leader of your own life. You create your own destiny and secure the future you envision.-

Surely, your future will not be defined solely by how well you did in school BUT mind you, the discipline you bring to your school work, the habits you formed in school, and the quality of work that you turn in - these are the things that you will bring with you AFTER college.

So there. I hope you'll find time to reflect on what you want to be in the near future, where you want to go, and what future you envision for yourself.

Now for the class assignments-

Here are the links:

Text and Tools - same reference material
Trends- this and this 
Think-Piece topics below:

Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions
How Advertisers Conquered the Super Bowl
The Philosophy of a Hashtag Strategy
5 Ways for an Online Entreprenuer to Stand Out
Super Bowl 2015 Ads
The Dangers of Cut-Price-Cut Soap
The Philippines is SEA's Strong Man
Smart Phones are the New Cigarettes

Please remember the guidelines that I gave you on Effective Presentations. Summarize. Synthesize. See you all on Saturday.

Introduction to MARK 110: Consumer Behavior with Research Applications

Hello there!

I understand that there are glitches in our class schedule and room assignments that I hope will be resolved when we get back to school in January 2015. Here is a quick recap of administrative matters:

1. My class schedule and room assignment is shown above. For irregular students, you may choose any of the MARK 110 class schedule above, and let me know which one you are joining.
2. For regular blocks, kindly make sure that our room assignement is the final one, and please let me know before our first class next year: January 10.
3. You need to form 5 groups per class. 
4. You need to send me your class directory complete with mobile numbers, email addresses and listed according to your grouping.
5. Follow my on Twitter (@notty_romero) and/or Google+ so you can get regular updates about the class. 

For those who missed the first meeting, here are 2 slide decks that I presented:

About Me: A brief introduction about myself, especially for Entre 4-1 and 4-2 classes.

Introduction to the Course and Class Requirements:

Due to time constraints, only MM 4-2 have completed the Class Activity on What type of consumer are you (family/individual). For Entre 4-1 and Entre 4-2, this is an outstanding assignment that you need to submit as a group. Some Entre 4-1 students have already submitted via email. For those who have not done so, you have until Saturday, December 20.

The next assignment is another group assignment- a write-up on the types of people (consumer profiling) you meet in a particular marketplace (restaurant, mall, supermarket,etc). See instructions and samples in the presentation above. MM 4-2 and Entre 4-1 have already submitted last Saturday. For Entre 4-2 and irregular students, this assignment is due on Saturday, December 20.

For everyone, please find time to read the books/ references for this class during the holidays. Give yourself the gift of READING.

There are more things to do, and so little time left. Watch out for more announcements. Happy Holidays!

Welcome to Consumer Behavior

Hello, everyone!

I must apologize for missing a lot of classes this semester. I was only informed of my teaching assignment Week 2 November, and I had a hard time cancelling my Saturday commitments made prior to receiving the teaching load. Nevertheless, I am sorry.

Yes, the holiday is over. Our class will meet on Saturday, 6 December. See you then.

Meantime, some cathing up is in order.

Download the following reading resources for the course through the links below. I expect everyone in the class to have read at least Chapter 1: An Introduction to Consumer Behavior of Solomon et. al. by Saturday.

Main Text: Consumer Behavior: A European Perspective, 3rd Edition, Solomon, et al

Readings:  

1. Buzz or Zap: Consumer Psychology for the 21st Century, T.L. Brink
2. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini, PhD
3. Why We Buy, Paco Underhill

May I request MM 4-2 students to share these instructions to Entrep 4-1 and Entrep 4-2 blocks.

For Entrep 4-1 and Entrep 4-2, If you've found your way to this blog, happy landing!

We will use this space in the web as an extension of our classroom learning experience. Here you will find class announcements, summaries of discussions, and other important matters relating to our class. Feel free to leave a comment, or to start a discussion.

Other things that you should be ready by Saturday are the following:

1. A Gmail/Google+ account
2. A Twitter account 

Until then. Regards and #StaySafe.                 

International Marketing: Assignments for September 20

Hi there,

Please find below the topics for your reaction papers:

Democracy for sale

Breast-feeding: A Philippine battleground

Top 10 Super Bowl Commercials of All Time

Every Content Marketer Needs an EditorRethinking the 4 P'sThe New Mad Men Of Advertising Are... EverywherePublic Relations in the Philippines: It’s a ‘love’ thingSecrets of the Superbrands

The Silent Killer of New Products: Lazy Pricing
7 awesome QR code marketing campaigns
How to Market Test a New Idea

For the rest of the class, please find below your team assignments:

As mentioned last Saturday, September 20 is our last class day. September 27 should be devoted for the preparation of your paper. Guidelines have been posted and can be viewed here.

See you.

International Marketing: Assignments for September 13

Please see below the list of assignments for this week's session. I understand that the 8:30am class (MARK109-3) will also have their defense on Saturday, coinciding with our class. Therefore, MARK 109-3 will have no class on Saturday BUT reaction papers should be submitted as scheduled.

Here are the topics for your reaction paper. There are 6 videos to choose from. These are topics that are very much related to our previous topic: Channel Strategies.  Avoid duplication of topics, unless there are 7  people in your group.

Everyone is encouraged to watch the videos or read the articles, even if it is not yet your turn to make a reaction paper.

How containerization shaped the modern world - Sir Harold Evans

Amazon. Facebook. Now Google drones?

Walmart Supply Chain

Inside FedEx's 'Superhub' During Christmas Rush

A Behind the Scenes Look at Starbucks Global Supply Chain

We are Maersk - We make change happen

I'm expecting a lively discussion on Saturday. See you then.

International Marketing Debate: Best Speakers and Best Teams

As already announced in class, this is to put on record the best performing speakers and the best performing teams during our Face Off: The International Marketing Debate. 

First, here are the best speakers and what the jury said in picking them as such:

In choosing the best speaker, we based it on the following criteria: first is the content of the speaker’s topic, how comprehensive and concise it is in describing the said issues. Next is how the speaker delivered his topic and accepts the questions and arguments that the opposing team conveyed. And last one is by how the orator works with his team. 

As a result, the best speaker/interrogator is Sarah Tabaniag from the negative team because she handled her questions confidently together with her partner. She was straight forward with her interrogation and see to it that everything goes with their plan. 

Louie Erickson Pascual from the negative team is chosen as the best speaker in Topic 2. Although his team didn’t win as the best team, Pascual had shown an amazing effort and quality for bringing his team through his words and counter arguments as the opposing team bombarded them with intimidating interrogations.

The first debating team were all good and they all had the potential to be the best speaker, but there was one who stood out from them all. He is Adam Rafael Senica from the Affirmative team. We chose him because we saw in him most of the qualities included in the criteria. He is the closing speaker in the said team but you will definitely notice him, because he showed his awareness and knowledge about both the Affirmative and Negative side. You will see the confidence he has and the informative response he gave to the rebuttals of the negative team. Mostly, he showed the right manners in the debate: loud and clear voice, no unnecessary movements and eye contact to each other.

For the second topic, we decided to choose Arjelyn Armenta to be the best speaker. Ms.Armenta for us is the most efficient in both Affirmative and Negative. You will see, that she attentively listens to the questions thrown by the Negative team and she is good in giving her response. In her speech, you will definitely understand what she wants to deliver and clarify to the Negative side (sic). She spoke well and clearly. 

The best speaker is RuzelleAlcantara who spoke well in her arguments and used the documents available to their team. She also delivered a good closing speech. 

 The best speaker is Charlene Salazar who delivered her argument well and used the documents in her argument. Teamwork was also visible, most especially because arguments were not repeated and the group organized their arguments.

The best performing teams were chosen based on Evidence (substance of facts and arguments), Delivery (debating skills and organization), Interpellation (quality of questions and answers), and the quality of Rebuttal Speech.

The best performing teams in the order of class assignments are the following:

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Again, congratulations to all groups for giving a good fight. I also commend all Special Teams for dutifully exercising their role as moderator and jury during the debate.

From my previous post, may I remind everyone what the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) tells us about the importance of debate.

The process of debate offers profound and lasting benefits for individuals, for societies and for the global community as a whole. With its emphasis on critical thinking, effective communication, independent research and teamwork, debate teaches skills that serve individuals well in school, in the workplace, in political life and in fulfilling their responsibilities as citizens of democratic societies. Once students have learned how to debate, they are better able to critically examine the pronouncements of their political representatives and to make informed judgments about crucial issues. - International Debate Education Association

Countdown to Finals

The semester is about to end, so here is how we are going to end it: an international marketing proposal for a company based in the Philippines.

This is a group assignment.

To begin your writing process, you need to choose a company or a product to market in an international jurisdiction. Coincidentally, this weekend, 22-24 August is the 10th Global Pinoy Bazaar where Filipino-made products will be displayed in an exposition at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

You may follow @YabangPinoy on Twitter and the official Facebook event page to get more information about the trade show.

Instead of conducting our regular class on Saturday, I enjoin you to drop by the 10th Global Pinoy Bazaar anytime from 23-24 August to choose from among the exhibitors what you think is the most promising product from the most interesting exhibitor at the expo. The Bazaar is open from 11AM to 9PM.

ALERT: For the 8:30AM class, we will hold class session for your International Marketing Debate on Saturday, 23 August. You may visit the bazaar after class or on Sunday.

Admission fee however will be collected at P100 per person. If that will be a problem in your group, you may just assign 2-3 people to attend the bazaar to scout for your paper topic. Group members can chip in for the admission fee of those attending. Those not attending may be assigned other tasks related to completion of your International Marketing Proposal. In other words, make teamwork work for you.

But if you want to get additional exposure and experience, I strongly suggest you to be there.

Here is what you will do at the Bazaar:

1. Look around for what you believe is the most interesting and most promising product to introduce in an international market.
2. Mingle around, talk to the owners, ask questions. Be genuinely interested.
3. Test the product as much as you can. If it is a food and there's a free tasting, grab the chance. If they sell shoes, try it. 
4. Ask for calling cards - and the product/company's Twitter/ Instagram accounts
5. Take a photo with the product that you liked. Post them later on Twitter/Instagram. Tag the company and the organizer @YabangPinoy plus #MARK109
   and #YabangPinoy
6. Tell them you are a Marketing student and you are interested to help them devise a marketing strategy for the product's entry to the international market (as part of your International Marketing course). You may tell them after the event (via email or Twitter) as the owners will be understandably busy with other customers at the bazaar. 
7. Pick at least three products/companies. Your group will later decide which one is most interesting/promising.

Check out the Guide to Writing an International Marketing Proposal for the complete instructions.

We will meet on August 30 with our regular class assignments (to be posted later), and the result of your mid-term exam. 

Week 3 Assignments

Here are the assignments for our next meeting: 28 June 2014. Since Mark 109-3 is not yet settled down with our own classroom, please refer to Week 2 Assignments instead. (If you have news about our permanent classroom for the sem, please tell me. Thanks).

For all students: Required reading of Chapter 2 of Onkvisit and Shaw (Trade Theories and Economic Development), plus reading and sharing of current events in International Marketing.

UPDATE! Sorry for the confusion. I have mixed up the group assignments. Let us all revert to what was agreed during class. Can somebody from Block 1 and 2 post the group assignments in the comment section below? Thank you.

Group 3: Reaction Paper on the following topics:

Uber teams up with Tesla in Shanghai

Puregold ties up with Japan convenience store giant

With Burger King Set to Sell Burgers for Breakfast, Who Rules Fast Food?

The Filipinos who made Singapore, Singapore

Filipino Fast Food Taste Test

Binalot eyes Middle East expansion
Sun, sea and surfing

You are however still free to pick another topic if you so decide. Just remember to link me up to the original article for my reference. 

Group 4: Report on Chapter 2 of Onkvisit and Shaw (Trade Theories and Economic Development), including Case 2.1 The United States of America vs The United States of Europe. Remember the criteria for effective presentation- informative value, interactivity and creativity.

Note on presentations (this applies to all sections/blocks): If you require a multimedia projector to play video/s, please tell me ahead of time. The videos should be uploaded in the Google Drive before the class if you wish to use my computer. If you cannot manage that, you may bring your own laptop. For security reason, I will not allow you to access your files through my computer using a flash drive. Powerpoint presentation is not allowed.

Group 5: Graphic recap of the presentation.

Group 1 and Group 2: Rate the presentations using the criteria above.

Read again the instructions for the assignments in my previous post if you want more clarification.

See you in class. Please come prepared.

Welcome to International Marketing

Welcome back to school!

And welcome to the exciting world of International Marketing. In this course, you will get to know several great brands and emerging brands; and Filipino companies that are home-grown and has successfully made it to the global arena.

During my first lecture, I laid down the course objectives and target learning outcomes of the course. We also discussed the class requirements and the tools that we will be using to facilitate our learning process.

For our reference text, we will be using Global Marketing Management 5th Edition by Masaaki Kotabe and Kristiaane Helsen and International Marketing: Analysis and Strategy by Sak Onkvisit and John Shaw. Click the links to access the e-files.

Except for the 8:30 am class (MARK 109-3), Learning Groups have been formed and assignments for the next session have been announced. Watch out for the detailed instructions on my next blog post.

I end with two items to inspire you this semester - this being your last full year in school and by around this time next year, you will all be embracing the challenges of a full adult life. The first is a "letter" to your generation from the founder of Virgin Group Richard Branson, and the second item is the short video which I also presented during our first session, entitled Are you Ready for the Future? 

Here is an excerpt from Richard Branson's "If I were 22: Have a Blast But Build Your Future":

If I were 22 today, I would embrace the opportunities technology has given us. While I am in my sixties, I am incredibly excited about the transformative power of the web and all sorts of new technology. From opportunities to tackle climate change to research to beat terrible diseases, as well as inventions to improve everyone's lives, I am sure the coming years will be a period of tremendous innovation. Most 22-year-olds today think that the way to make their fortunes is through setting up tech businesses, and it is true that can be a fruitful direction. But other more conventional businesses shouldn't be forgotten. There are still plenty of different sectors that need shaking up. It is more important to follow your passion than going into tech simply to make a fortune. Not everybody is technically minded anyway, and if you don't really love what you do you won't succeed.

So, there-- have a blast and start building your future. Now.

Class Card Distribution on Wednesday

First, congratulations to the following students for getting a score of 1.00 (or equivalent to 98-110 points) in the Final Exam:

1. Jacklyn Maute 
2. Jesa Alysa Pita
3. Patricia Ann Claridad
4. Joana Marie Desabille
5. Louie Ericson Pascual

Class cards and exam answer sheets for all sections will be distributed on Wednesday, 26 March 2014 at 8:00 in the morning. We can meet up first at the vicinity of CME office then look for any available room at the 3rd or 4th floor of Gusaling Lacson. Kindly spread the word.

There are some of you however who doesn't have grades yet from the Panel. These are the groups that were late in submitting their Strategic Marketing Plan. Hopefully I can get your grades from the panel by tomorrow (March 25).

Allow me to say that it was a great experience for me to be your instructor in this class, despite the limitations and shortcomings. Whatever your final grade will be, please always remember that learning does not stop in school, and grades are not the sole determinant to success- but it matters!

Finally, let me leave you with a few words from Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain- American author and humorist who wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel.

See you around!

Final Exam Announcement

 

This is to inform everyone that the "mini-seminar" on Digital Marketing is already cancelled due to unavailability of a large room at the university.

 

Therefore, the final exam will take place on Saturday, 15 March 2014 during your regular class schedule. As I have mentioned last Saturday, you will be required to analyze a case and draw up a marketing plan for a fictitious company. This is an individual exam on various parts of a marketing plan with 10 bonus questions about your group marketing plan.

 

Each of you should bring at least 5 pages of writing paper and a ball pen.

See you, and please spread the word.

Creating the Table of Contents Using Microsoft Word

Hi guys,

Based on the submissions so far, I've noticed that you are having difficulty formatting a Table of Contents. There is an easy way and I'm sharing the video tutorial with you below.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Arnold

Gentle Reminders

Hi folks,

Please be reminded of the following, as agreed in class last Saturday:

1. Each group needs to upload the most recent version of your paper to Google Drive. We need to make sure that all your papers are fit for final printing and submission to CME. Please also use new file naming convention: MARK 106[Section] [Company Name] [Final]. All updated files should be uploaded on or before Saturday, 1 March.
2. Deadline of submission is on Saturday, 8 March. Printed on a hard bound black cover.
3. It should have an Approval Sheet right after the cover page, and right before the Acknowledgment page. Your Page 1 is the Executive Summary. All pages before the Executive Summary, are counted as i, ii, iii, and so on. To illustrate:

Page A: Hard Cover (same with Title Page)
Page B: Inside front cover (blank)
Page C: False cover (blank)
i. Title Page
ii. Approval Sheet
iii. Acknowledgment (optional)
iv. Table of Contents

Page 1: Executive Summary
...and so on.

The Table of Contents (ToC) starts with Executive Summary. All the rest are preliminary pages and should not be included in the ToC.

A sample of an Approval Sheet is shown below (click to enlarge).

Online consultations continue especially for those who were required to revise their papers. My communication lines are always open to you. Just let me know in advance should you need real time feedback. I'll be on the road on a business trip most of the time this week so please bear with me.

That's all for now.

Cheers!

Recap: Panel Presentation

Congratulations to each of you for surviving the panel presentation last Monday and Tuesday. You all did a good job, really, considering the limited time that was given to you to prepare and submit your Strategic Marketing Management Plan. Good job!

Before we started the panel presentation last Monday, I gave a short opening remarks addressed to you- my students- and to the members of the panel to set the tone of the panel presentation. Here is a screenshot of my notes (there might be some changes of a few words or phrases during actual delivery but the essence remains the same) for those who were not there to hear it. 

In summary, 9 groups passed the oral defense while 3 groups were not as lucky. For those who were less successful, don’t fret: we are here to learn, and failures are part of the learning process.

“Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Here are some of my observations from the whole exercise, and I hope you’ll use these as valuable lessons (you may also add your own list of ‘lessons learned’ in the comments section below):

1. Unfavorable comments from the panelists stem from your lack of understanding of your industry and even of your company. 
2. Most papers were not supported by a simple consumer research, even as simple as asking your family or classmates about your chosen product.
3. People notice it when you Copy-Paste what you are writing in your paper. Stop that habit. Do not plagiarize.
4. Experience what you are writing about- see, feel, taste, smell it so you can have better credibility.
5. Read. The quality of your writing and speaking reveals your lack of grasp of what's happening around you. 
6. Improve your presentation skills. You should learn to engage your audience, and not just read from the screen or from your notes.
7. Improve your writing skills.   

Lastly, I’d like you to read Steve Jobs’ graduation speech at the Stanford University given on 12 June 2005. I’m sure many of you have encountered this before in one way or another, but it is important to be reminded again by the powerful words of this one great man.  

Or watch the video. (Better yet watch the video while reading the speech- or turn on the subtitle).

See you again on Saturday, 22 February. I'll post soon our agenda for the next meeting.

Cheers!

Break a leg!

Here's to wish you good luck on your oral presentation tomorrow and Tuesday!

And for some useful tips to effective public speaking, remember these:

1. Know your material very well. Mastery of your topic- industry, market, company and strategy- is half the work done.
2. Practice. Practice. Practice. There might not be enough time to practice, but you may start thinking of what you will be saying by organizing your thoughts on every opportunity.
3. Relax. This is part of your learning process. Your panel wants you to succeed. What can't kill you will make you stronger. But if you are not hurting, you are not growing. So pain is a friend.
4. Don't be defensive. Some of you call this exercise the "oral defense", but the best way to survive this is by NOT antagonizing your panel. Be friendly but not cutesy. Be serious but not snobby. Take all in, calmly. Thank your panel for each of their suggestions. Explain briefly and plainly.
5. Support each other. Speak as a team, work together as a team. 

Cheers- Arnold