You have gathered and analyzed some interesting budget, operations, research, or workforce data and described your findings in a written report for your work team. Now it’s time to brief top-level executives on this valuable information. Your purpose is to summarize (“Executize”) the data and communicate its significance without overwhelming your audience with too much detail. To turn your report into a tailored presentation that meets the needs of those executives, use a three-step approach: PLAN, DECONSTRUCT, RECONSTRUCT.
This first of three blogs explores the planning step:
Step 1: Plan your presentation. However imminent your deadline, take time to think about the significance of your information and its relationship to the concerns of your audience.
1. Define the context for your presentation. That is, determine the purpose of the larger event of which your presentation will be a part. Consider these questions: Why have you been asked to present this data? For example, will the information you share prepare the audience for an upcoming Project or Program Review? Will the information provide the basis for strategic planning? Will other technical experts present other topics? What are the time allotted and the venue for your topic? Articulate for yourself the difference between the context of your report and the context of your presentation.
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2. Determine the purpose of your presentation—why you are presenting this information. The purpose of your report is to present your findings and, in many cases, the conclusions that can be drawn from those findings. The purpose of your presentation is to explain the significance of your findings. For example, you may describe how the organization’s current allocation of resources is or is not aligned with allocation guidelines and the implications of that information. Or you may communicate the value of a program and the importance of its continuing. Articulate for yourself the difference between the purpose of your report and the purpose of the presentation.
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3. Determine the goal of your presentation—what you want the audience to do as a result of the presentation. For example, do you want the audience (decision makers) to approve a schedule or budget, make an informed decision, share knowledge with stakeholders or other executives, or take some other action? Consider this question: What should the presentation accomplish? Articulate for yourself the difference between the goal of your report and the goal of the presentation. ___________________________________________________________________________
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4. Analyze the audience—identify who will receive the presentation including their functional roles and thus their concerns/interests regarding the topic. For example, decision makers are often concerned with the implication of information for budgets, schedules, long-term plans, and stakeholders. Also identify the audience’s area and level of expertise and experience, their knowledge of and perspective on the topic and the presenter(s), what they are apt to agree with/disagree with. And learn their preferred communication or learning style. For example, do they prefer to review a summary captured in three to five high-level bullet points, hear your conclusion as well as the supporting explanation, or take part in a demonstration? Articulate for yourself the difference between the readers of your report and the audience for the presentation.
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5. Based upon the purpose of the event (the context for your presentation) as well as the purpose, goal, and audience of your presentation, determine your overarching message. This message must matter to and interest your audience. Then determine the three to five main supporting points of your message and the order in which you will present those points, for example: (1) in order of importance when your credibility with this audience is high and you recommend an approach based on criteria important to the audience, (2) in reverse order of importance when you walk the audience through your thought process to help them weigh alternatives and risks and set priorities, (3) in chronological order when you highlight the progress of a project or the events leading up to an accident, or (4) in sequential order when you describe the required action plan to solve a problem or move a project forward.
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Consider a current presentation. How does the presentation differ from the report on which it was based? What level of detail is appropriate for the presentation’s audience? What is the message that unifies your presentation and interests the audience?
Once you have a compelling message and supporting points, you are one step closer to a successful presentation. Our next blog explores Step 2—how to deconstruct your report to build an outline for your presentation.
© COPYRIGHT 2016 by The Writing Center, Inc., West Chester, PA 19380. All Rights Reserved. The Writing Center, Inc., provides in-person and virtual customized training in effective business and technical writing. This article or any part thereof may be shared only with this attribution.
