Reports and Presentations - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 254

have more influence on the audience, particularly the decision maker. In many cases,
the presenter refers the audience to a detailed report (which may be available with
the presentation) or to an external source (e.g., an Internet Web site or an article in a
journal or a magazine).
One advantage of electronic reports is the ability to hyperlink certain information.
For example, an executive summary may be only one page long, but certain words may
be hyperlinked and can take the reader to more details inside or outside the report.
Scientific seminars and short courses are not relevant to this discussion, although
they are still subject to “good communication criteria.” Thus, they are not covered.
SKILLS NECESSARY FOR GIVING GOOD PRESENTATIONS
In addition to learning the characteristics of good communication described previ-
ously, presenters should develop eight skills for giving good presentations:
1. Focus on the client's needs : The presenter should present his or her product
or service in the best way that serves the client (audience). The product or
service may have great features that are not relevant to the client's line of work.
Elaborating on such features would be a waste of time. The presenter's main
focus must be on how to meet the client's needs.
2. Be honest : Even though the presenter's ultimate goal—in most cases—is to
sell a product or a service, the presenter should be honest and objective at
all times, especially with regard to facts and numbers. For instance, making a
statement such as “Our product is the best on the market” is easy to do, but
backing up this statement with numbers, such as the sales volume, the number
of clients served, and the results of a customer satisfaction poll, would make a
better statement. It may be difficult for the salesperson but ethically required
to admit to the client that his or her product does not meet the client's needs
or that there is another product in the market that meets those needs better.
3. Ensure that materials are visible : The presenter must make sure that the mate-
rials displayed on the screen are comfortably viewable and legible from all sides
of the room. If possible, the presenter should test the display from several posi-
tions in the room before giving the presentation. During the presentation, the
presenter should stand in a position that does not block the audience's line of
sight.
4. Speak clearly : The presenter should speak clearly and with authority, occasion-
ally interacting with the audience and sometimes using humor. The tone of the
speaker should change occasionally based on the context of the presentation.
5. Make eye contact : The presenter should speak to the audience and not to him-
or herself or to his or her notes. Eye contact with the audience is extremely
important. Eye contact should be made with not just those in the front row
or closest to the presenter but with everyone in the audience.