Preparation for a Presentation and Progress Reports in Project Communications
Part A: Preparation for a Presentation
A presentation is a form of communication often adapted when speaking in various situations, including but not limited to a group, addressing a meeting, or briefing a team on what they should do. Furthermore, a presentation is also a broad term that denotes speaking in public, such as at a wedding event, during a funeral procession, or passing across a point in a video conference. A presentation is deemed effective if the message is passed across to the listeners persuasively and compels them to undertake certain actions (Gido & Clements, 2014). In an organizational context, a presentation creates a positive workplace environment by outlining what the organization can offer to the employee to receive certain levels of service delivery. For an effective presentation, certain steps should be followed to realize these outcomes. This part of the paper will discuss six steps an individual should follow while properly preparing and delivering an important presentation in different settings.
The first step in preparing for an important presentation is careful preparation. A presenter must allocate enough time to prepare thoroughly on how one will be able to deliver their presentation. According to Graham’s school of thought, two of the most important things that one should ask themselves are what the audience would think at the end of the presentation and who would make the audience of the presentation (Gido & Clements, 2014). When an individual knows the answers to these two questions, preparing for the presentation becomes much easier to traverse (Gido & Clements, 2014). The preparation step of one’s presentation also encompasses the structuring and formatting of the presentation. One of the successful ways of structuring a presentation that has been identified is the agenda, message, and summary. The presentation’s message serves two overarching goals: to inform and persuade the audience. In this regard, the presentation’s content will either inform the audience what they ought to know or convince them to take a certain path in life.
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A presenter should also make detailed notes to plan or prepare for the presentation. However, one is not required to rely entirely on the notes made during the material day of the presentation of their subject. This is because reading from a prepared text sounds unnatural. Instead, an individual should consider using small index cards as a memory aid to guide the path of their thoughts and foster coherence while presenting (Samáková et al., 2013). In many cases, referring to A4 sheets of paper composed of huge volumes of information can be extensively distracting and easily show the audience that one is nervous, especially if the presenter’s hands are shaking and sweating (Gido & Clements, 2014). The last essential component under this step of careful preparation is the timing of the presentation. An individual should ensure that the presentation length falls within the stipulated time limits by avoiding the temptation of being wordy and delivering the message precisely.
The second step of preparing for an important presentation is using visuals wisely. Even though presentations do not necessarily require a visual aid, when one decides to use them, they can help the audience understand what is being passed across properly. While preparing the visual aids, the presenter should ensure that they complement their oral presentation instead of repeating it (Goudar, 2010). In this regard, one should ensure that the visual aids are simple and easily accessible and that they cause less distraction to the audience regarding the intake of the required content. The third step of preparation is to consider the audience involved. The presenter must keep the audience in mind during all the stages of preparation to the delivery stage (Samáková et al., 2013). This will enable the speaker to balance the background information the audience knows with in-depth evaluation to foster their learning process.
Practicing with a friend is the fourth step of preparing for an important presentation. A presenter should ensure that they run through their presentation in full more than once. Practicing the entire presentation will let one know how long it would take for all the parts to be presented based on the logical flow of thoughts. The friend’s feedback will help the speaker communicate their information audibly and clearly (Samáková et al., 2013). The practice may be done in the room where the individual will be giving their presentation to help them get used to expressing themselves in front of others. While practicing, the presenter should ensure that they speak slowly by taking a breath at the end of every sentence, facing the audience with a confident impression, and sparing some time for the audience to ask questions (Samáková et al., 2013).
The fifth step is for the individual to ensure that they have developed a positive attitude. While presentations often cause most people to be extremely nervous, one should ensure that they do not allow negative thoughts to prevail. The speaker should think about the positive outcome of the presentation and the activities they can engage in to ensure the presentation runs smoothly (Goudar, 2010). The last step is for the speaker to avoid overreliance on technology. One should test the presentation beforehand with the same equipment used during the main event to avoid the risk of technology tripping. Consequently, the speaker may arrive early and test if the equipment works fine to avoid last-minute embarrassment.
Part B: Progress Reports in Project Communications
Progress reports are an integral segment of project communication because of their numerous organizational benefits. The first benefit of progress reports is that they keep everyone on the same page. All co-workers can learn about the project through progress reports at all times. The other significance is that progress reports foster collaboration in project management. Progress reports enhance employee collaboration within and across departments, hence curbing project delays (Goudar, 2010). Also, progress reports outline the milestones realized in a project so far. While a big project can be difficult to manage, progress reports necessitate breaking the entire project into smaller chunks and identifying crucial milestones. Also, these reports aid the project stakeholders in identifying areas where they will require more time, staff, and resources to ensure that the project is completed at the right time.
A progress report should include the following four elements. The first element is that it should have a purpose that briefly enumerates the progress and status of the project. Other information that may be included under this project segment is its duration and other important insights that should be considered. The second component is that the progress report should define the audience by outlining their thoughts after examining the report’s details (Goudar, 2010).). Thirdly, the progress report should also include the work completed section, which indicates tasks completed, the team assigned to various tasks, and information on critical findings. A summary is the last segment of the progress report that briefly describes the team’s problems and the recommendations on what needs to be done (Goudar, 2010). Lastly, a progress report describes activities that have been carried out and results attained since the last report. In contrast, a final report encompasses activities carried out throughout the project life cycle.
References
Gido, J., & Clements, J. (2014). Successful Project Management. Cengage Learning.
Goudar, J. (2010). Effective project communication management. The Project Perfect White Paper Collection.
Samáková, J., Sujanová, J., & Koltnerová, K. (2013). Project communication management in industrial enterprises. In 7th European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation, ECIME (pp. 155-163).
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Question 
Preparation for a Presentation
Part A: What would you say if you were asked to advise someone on preparing for and delivering an important presentation? For each step listed, state why it is important.
Part B: Why are progress reports an integral part of project communications? What should they include? How are they different from a final report?