Prepare a presentation: Case study
‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd (Part 1)
Introduction
Making a presentation is a critical aspect of any business practice.
Internal presentations may take many forms such as an informal talk to a
small group of people, all of whom work in the same business or belong to
the same organisation.
External presentations on the other hand, may require representation of
the organisation to an unknown audience in an outside venue.
All presentations have common features however. To be successful,
presenters must pay careful attention to:
Preparing information, resources, venue, audience, help and self
2. Presenting the content in an effective way and
3. Reviewing the processes to ensure continuous improvement
1.
This case study will focus on preparing the information, resources, venue,
audience, help from others, and the presenter’s skills prior to the actual
presentation.
Overview of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd
In 2006 ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd became an incorporated company with
Michael and Linda Ross as directors. Previously, ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd
operated as a sole proprietorship since its inception in 1985. Due to an
outlooking national and international focus and quality workmanship, the
company has grown rapidly over the past twenty five years.
The core business of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd is to repair vehicles using
specialised processes. The main workshop is located in Sydney NSW with
smaller workshops located in every other state.
The main workshop operates 24 hours a day. Chemical and industrial
processes are used and shut down of equipment for maintenance is
scheduled on the last weekend of every month.
Currently, the company employs over 300 employees. Due to its rapid
expansion as the leading service provider in Australia and increasingly
further afield, ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd has implemented a recruitment
program. This program will employ thirty employ apprentices and trainees
in this emerging industry across Australia.
Scenario
With the latest recruitment program almost complete, Kar Magician P/L
Managing Director Michael Ross is concerned that new apprentices and
trainees are unaware of inherent dangers that exist in a work environment.
In particular, Michael is concerned for the welfare of the new young
workers who have little or no work experience at all. For this reason,
Michael has asked the Human Resource (HR) department to conduct a
series of presentations in all locations to address this need.
Shannon Wells, an administration assistant in the HR department, has
offered to prepare and present this important information to the new
groups of young workers.
Shannon is very keen to develop her presentation skills and knows that this
will only happen if she actively seeks out opportunities to present
information to others.
See how it’s done
Shannon identifies that, in order to effectively prepare for a presentation,
she must:
1. Plan and document the presentation approach and the intended
outcomes
2. Choose presentation strategies, format and delivery methods that
match the characteristics of the target audience, location, resources
and personnel needed
3. Select presentation aids, materials and techniques that suit the format
and purpose of the presentation, and will enhance audience
understanding of key concepts and central ideas
4. Brief others involved in the presentation on their roles/responsibilities
within the presentation and finally
5. Select techniques to evaluate presentation effectiveness in order to
improve for the next time
1. Plan and document the presentation approach and
the intended outcomes
Shannon identifies that the purpose of the presentation is to inform the
new young workers about health and safety matters at work.
The objectives of the session are for these young workers to demonstrate
how to:

Follow safety procedures

Report safety hazards

Correctly wear safety gear and

Not put other people at risk by their actions or inactions
Shannon will use brief notes as her session plan. She will include timings for
key areas to ensure that all intended outcomes are achieved.
2. Choose presentation strategies, format and delivery
methods that match the characteristics of the target
audience, location, resources and personnel needed
Approximately ten new employees will be in each session. Shannon decides
to find out a little information about the first group of new employees so
that she can tailor the presentation appropriately. She emails a brief
questionnaire to each person to ascertain their needs.
Some of the information that she learns is: the average age of the
apprentices and trainees is 16 years old, the eldest being 21. Most have left
school after completing Year 10. Only 1 new apprentice completed Year 12.
Half of the new young employees have limited experience in the workplace
such as school work experience programs or part-time work when they
were school students. However, none have ever worked in an industrial
work environment such as ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd.
Shannon books the conference room for a one hour presentation for next
Monday morning starting at 10.00 am for the first presentation. She
arranges to have six laptops available with internet access. She also
arranges an overhead projector so that she can demonstrate with visual
images using a PowerPoint slideshow. Shannon personally visits the
conference room and checks it out using a hazard assessment checklist for
any safety issues she’ll have to manage.
Shannon believes that this small group of people will benefit from a
structured session but with information sequenced in small ‘chunks’. She
will use activity based strategies to engage the young workers including
real-life case studies, questions and answers and interactive OHS
simulations on the internet.
Shannon prepares samples of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd Safe Operating
Procedures and other OHS documentation to refer to throughout the
presentation. She prepares worksheets for the group to work on during the
presentation. And she makes sure that she has sufficient stationery for the
group.
3. Select presentation aids, materials and techniques
that suit the format and purpose of the
presentation, and will enhance audience
understanding of key concepts and central ideas
Shannon structures her presentation notes into an introduction, a body
and a conclusion.
She researches and finds startling facts about OHS incidents. She decides to
use these distressing facts to immediately capture the group’s attention in
her introduction. Shannon wants to shock this group with the reality of
young worker injuries in the workplace.
Shannon searches for factual OHS information that she can use. However,
she does not want to overload the workers with textual information and
feels that this audience will benefit from visual aids.
In her search, Shannon discovers that the WorkCover NSW site has an array
of valuable and interactive resources available to the general public. She
also finds a short but powerful DVD where three injured workers tell their
stories. Shannon works these resources into the body of her presentation.
In her conclusion, Shannon incorporates a question and answer activity and
a role play to further reinforce the four objectives of the presentation.
4. Brief others involved in the presentation on their
roles/responsibilities within the presentation
In order to provide accurate information, Shannon arranges a telephone
conference meeting with all supervisors of the apprentices and trainees.
This meeting is necessary to ensure that their input is considered when she
prepares her presentation notes.
Additionally Shannon has arranged for two supervisors to be present
during the last 20 minutes of the presentation. The purpose: to clarify and
confirm responsibilities in each employee’s section.
Shannon also requests assistance from the Information Technology section
in the event of equipment failure during the session. Tim, the IT Help Desk
officer arranges to be available for all proposed presentation sessions.
Finally, Shannon discusses her presentation with the HR manager before
she finalises all resources.
5. Select techniques to evaluate presentation
effectiveness in order to improve for the next time
After considering various evaluation tools, Shannon decides to use a brief
short presentation self-assessment checklist that focuses on specific
aspects of each presentation.
The first presentation checklist will focus on her verbal and non-verbal
communications skills.
The second presentation checklist will focus on her preparation of visual
aids and strategies she uses to engage the audience.
The last presentation checklist will focus on the structure of the session.
For example, is the material sequenced in a logical manner?
Shannon also intends to ask her colleagues to provide critical feedback on
their impressions of her skills.