TyroCity

Discussion on: How to present and deliver a strong business document?

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DIPA_DHUNGANA

We put a lot of effort in writing a strong business document. It demands good research and plenty of time. No matter how effective the document is, if we fail to present it effectively all our hard-work and effort goes in vain.If we fail to deliver effectively, even the best-laid business plans cannot get the desired response. The ideas may be great but if not communicated well, it will be useless and ineffective. The numbers and facts in the paper should be communicated as something tangible and relatable to make others understand and connect to our ideas. So presenting the document is as important as writing it.

There are several ways to present and deliver the business documents effectively. O’hara (2014) has mentioned the following ways for persuasive delivery:

1. Craft an emotional story: The best way to hook an audience is through story telling. Converting the information in paper to a meaningful story can help in getting positive response. The more we can inject an emotional appeal or human connection into our narrative, the stronger and more memorable our presentation will be. But it should not be vague and irrelevant.

2. Lead with the need: In order to grab the attention of our audience from the outset, we have to identify and communicate the business need we are trying to address by our presentation. In addition, we need to make them believe that the identified need aligns with corporate strategies and goals, and we can satisfy those needs in the best possible manner.

3. Address your audience concerns: We need to identify what the audience wants and present the business document accordingly. The interests of the decision makers should be incorporated in the presentation. The best way to make people involved is giving them the presentation before hand asking for recommendations and making their feedback a part of final presentation.

4. Find the right medium for your message: Text heavy slides with too much details and unattractive figures make audience lose their focus. We need to be sure about the message we want to convey and decide the best way to communicate it. The message decides the medium of communication. It could be figures, charts, diagrams or just plain text.

5. Do not forget to connect: Our document and slides could be very effective, but if we just focus on the information we want to deliver ignoring the human connection, we cannot get the desired result. Connecting with the audience is the most important thing in presentation as the real power of presentation lies on the ability to connect the audience through narratives.

6. Have an elevator pitch ready: The best mantra to present within the estimated time is planning for the short and preparing for the long. Sometimes the time allocated for the presentation might change on the last hour so we need to structure our presentation accordingly so that we do not panic and no information is left behind.

To conclude, telling story, spelling out the business need and having both short and long version of the presentation ready can help us in presenting our strong document effectively.

References
O’hara, C. (2014, July 21). The Right Way to Present Your Business Case. Harvard Business Review . Retrieved from hbr.org/2014/07/the-right-way-to-p...