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How to present my project - Project presentation skills
Running a good project is not enough. You have to communicate your results, not to seek credit for yourself, although credit where credit is due, but to share your new found knowledge and to influence others to adopt any changes that may be necessary.
There are many ways to present a project and even more styles in which to deliver it depending on the organisation, audience and type of project.
Getting a presentation right can make the difference between acceptance and rejection. In other words a great project is only perceived as great if you can get your message across.
In the following the fundamentals of making a good presentation are discussed along with different proven formats.
Let's look at some basics of presenting. All presentations must follow the 4 P's - Plan, Prepare, Practice and Present. It is logical and it works!
Plan your presentation
Before you can start your presentation you must know what you want to say, who the audience will be and what they expect to hear and how best to present it. This is known as the 3M's - Message, Mood and Media.
Message
Be clear right from the start about what points you want to get across to your audience. Think about your conclusion and what you want your audience to take away with them. Do you want to inform, motivate, move them to action etc? List your key points clearly before you start.
Mood
Based on your message, decide who you will need to present to and where. Who are the stakeholders of your project, will you present to them all at once or in groups? Your decision here will depend on how many are involved and who they are. Some advice here - if possible try to present to all your stakeholders at the same time, from CEO to operators. This will promote unity and a common understanding across the organisation. I have had senior managers tell me after a presentation that they never knew that that was how the shop floor saw things.
Where will the presentation take place? My advice here is at the gemba (where the work actually happens) or as close as possible so that you can have a tour of the area and even demonstrate your work afterwards. There is nothing more powerful for understanding and remembering than seeing it firsthand.
Think also about the mood of your audience. Will they be keen to hear what you have to say, will they be sceptical or hostile or fearful that their jobs might change or even be lost!? Your presentation will need to be sensitive to this.
Media
The audience and mood of the presentation will help you to define how to make your presentation and what media to use. Firstly decide who will make the presentation, will you do it or is someone else better positioned, either due to status or expertise, to make it for you? If the project was a team effort, why not get the team to share the presentation. This will engender buy in and give them recognition for their efforts.
What format will you use? PowerPoint has become the standard presentation tool for management presentations but is it right for you and your project? Slide after slide of all singing all dancing presentation may turn your audience off and is known by those of us who have suffered it as "death by PowerPoint".
Ask yourself if the presentation will need to be communicated electronically to other parts of the organisation or stored electronically? If so, consider a brief project report document or an A3 report format. The discipline of putting all the information on to one A3 piece of paper will force you to cut through all the peripheral issues and get to the point. Developed by Toyota, the A3 it is an excellent format and discipline for a standard project report. More on this later.
A presentation format that I like to use is a presentation wall or notice board. Using the actual documents produced during the project, such as brainstorm flipcharts, value stream maps and photographs of before and after situations. The audience can gather round the documents and get more involved. You can then summarise the presentation in to a short document or A3 for distribution and storage later.
Preparing your presentation
Whatever media you decide to use, keep your presentation short and to the point. A ten to fifteen minute presentation with five minutes for questions and answers should be enough to get your message across. An added bonus of sticking to a short time is that you will stand a better chance of getting your audience to turn up!
When preparing your presentation, use the 3 T's - "tell them what you are about to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you have just told them. In other words; an introduction, a middle and a summary.
Try not to use acronyms and local jargon, unless this is common speak for everyone in your audience, otherwise this may either disrupt your flow explaining it or turn people off altogether.
A3 Project Presentation Format
A typical A3 report format would include the following sections:
- background and problem statement
- current condition and status
- goals and objectives of the project
- root cause analysis
- actions/countermeasures taken
- verification/confirmation of effect
- follow-up actions
This is as good a format as any for organising your information. See an A3 style project report below.
Kaizen Project Presentation Format
Another very simple project presentation format typically used after a Kaizen or short improvement event is:
- Introduction including team and problem description
- Before and after - photos, metrics and improvements
- Conclusion - benefits and follow-up action plan
A typical short project report presentation.
DMAIC Project Presentation Format
For Six Sigma projects following the DMAIC sequence can also be used for presenting your project with the inclusion of a summary/conclusion section:
- Define - introduce the project charter or key elements of it (always include/recognise the team)
- Measure - understand the nature of the problem and what to measure.
- Analysis of your data and understanding of root cause.
- Improve - verification of improvements made
- Control - what controls have been put in place to ensure that the benefits are locked in?
- Summary and conclusion.
- Choose whichever format suits your needs.
Practice your presentation
Whether you are an accomplished presenter or not it is always advisable to put the effort in to know your presentation. One of the best presenters I know, when accused of being a natural and not needing to practice, said "you know, the more I practice, the more spontaneous I become."
If you are to present as a team, make sure that each member knows their part and feels as comfortable as possible. To calm inexperienced presenters, I always let the team know that if they have a problem I will always help them out. I let each person practice their part first, then have a dry run through before hand to make sure the handovers between speakers is smooth and the timing is correct.
Be aware that when it comes to the real presentation there is sometimes a desire to expand on what you have practiced. Try to avoid this as it will usually detract from your carefully prepared punchy presentation.
Presenting Your Project
Finally you are to present your project. Make sure you turn up ahead of time and get everything ready. Get yourself and if appropriate your team calm and prepared.
Ensure you dress appropriately for the occasion. Depending on the audience and business culture, you may want to dress up, dress down or just dress normally. Be aware that your appearance can have a significant effect on how people perceive you and your subject matter. A sharp business outfit may be off-putting to shop floor operatives who will immediately class you as management and totally ignore what you have to say. On the other hand overalls and oily boots may not go down well in the boss's office.
When speaking, articulate yourself well. Use your natural personality to reach out to the audience. This sounds easier than it really is unless you have a lot of practice at presenting. A quote I like states "nothing prevents us from being natural so much as the desire to be so." So practice, practice, practice.
Use your voice to make the presentation interesting. Make sure people at the back can hear you. Use pitch, with practice you can project your voice without having to shout. Vary the tone and speed of your voice to keep your audience's attention. Slow down to emphasis a point, speed up to express the need for urgency and pause to let your points sink in "the most precious things in speech are pauses".
Thank your audience and recognise the efforts of the team.
Always summarise your presentation and repeat the key points and state what you want your audience to do when they leave. What is the point of speaking to others if you do not want them to do something, change or behave differently? Always move your audience to action!
Using the 4P's of Plan, Prepare, Practice and Present, the 3M's Message, Mood, Media and the 3T's of Tell them what you are about to tell them, Tell them and then Tell them what you have just told them, project presentations will be appropriate to your audience, polished and well formatted.
SigmaPro work with all kinds of organisations to identify, select and run Lean Six Sigma projects and support and coach staff to get the best out of projects. Call us now for help in organising and managing your business critical projects.
Autobiography
Dr David Cowburn
Lean Six Sigma Specialist
David has 25 years of running companies to Managing Director level and is experienced in utilising Lean Six Sigma in a wide variety of businesses including, manufacturing, process industry, service, and administrative.
In a people based hands-on style, he works and trains at all levels in an organisation from Board to shop floor to bring about rapid measurable step changes in performance.
David was originally trained in the Toyota Production System whilst at GKN and has since developed a high level blend of Lean and Six Sigma philosophies and tools through working with businesses all around the World.
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