Report Presentation (Persuasion)

• Duration – Typically report presentations are about 30 minutes. If you have been allocated a time, try to aim to only use 50% of it on a formal presentation. That way you have plenty of time for questions and debate. (In the unlikely event you finish early, this is likely to please participants).

• Structure

- Problem (Introduction) - The reason for a report is always some kind of problem or potential problem. Highlight what it is.

- Findings – The results of your research.

- Conclusion – Summary / recap of the findings. Directly link it to the problem.

- Recommendations / Suggestions / Options - You may not be authorised to make decision s, but you should always present ideas as to how the problem can be solved or at least how to minimize the losses.

• Style – Generally formal, but it does depend on the company culture.

• Questions – Most report presentations have questions at the end, but you may wish to invite questions at any time to increase audience involvement. In some board meetings you WILL be asked questions at any time and their purpose is likely to be to test that you have done a thorough analysis of the subject.

Tip: If you don’t know how to solve a problem, present it as a brainstorming session and invite the appropriate employee s who might know how to deal with it. In which case allow most of the time for discussion.

Entertainment

• Duration – If you are making a toast, keep it down to 5 minutes. If you are the main speaker then you maybe expected to talk for up to 45 minutes.

• Structure – People are not expected to remember so much of your speech, so an interesting introduction, a good story or two for a main body and a witty ending is perfect.

• Style – Adapt to your audience, likely to be light hearted.

• Questions – Not likely to be any questions in a speech purely made for entertainment. (You may be asked questions privately afterwards).

The first step in preparing a presentation is to define the purpose of your presentation. The following is an overview of several common types of presentations and their purpose. Each presentation type requires a specific organization technique to assure they are understood and remembered by the audience. The suggested organizational structure is also provided.