Course: Manage Projects and Ensure a Safe Workplace

Week 6: Develop Project Plan - continued (Element 2)

Project Goal 3: Obtain agreement from 'the team' for workplace proposals and approval to proceed with the project.
In managing any project, presentations are used as a formal method for bringing people together to plan, monitor and review its progress. Presentations may also be necessary  to obtain approval to proceed with the project following the completion of a project's phase.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of careful preparation of a presentation. Five minutes on the floor in front of senior management could decide the acceptance of a proposal of several months duration for the manager and the whole team. With so much potentially at stake, the presenter must concentrate not only upon the facts being presented but upon the style, pace, tone and ultimately tactics which should be used. As a rule of thumb for an average presentation, no less than 1 hour should be spent in preparation for 5 minutes of talking.

The essential steps for preparing a presentation are:
1. Define the presentation’s objective. What do you wish to achieve e.g. raise awareness, gain approval, demonstrate a product.
2. Identify your audience. What are the audience characteristics that will influence your presentation? client, staff, peers, informal or formal.
3. Familiarise yourself with the presentation’s venue – available equipment, presentation area.
4. Structure your presentation:
> The beginning: use specific slides to gain attention, create rapport, outline what’s to come
> The middle: use project's content slides to present information, highlight key points, minimise text and maximise images.
> The end: use specific slides to regain attention, summarise key points, confirm your objective.

Use these resources to assist you to prepare an interesting presentation

Go to your presentation assignment.
There are two presentations in this subject each worth 15% of your final mark.