Business professionals are required to gather, collate, analyze, store, and disseminate many kinds of information. In doing so, they become information resource centers, often storing huge amounts of information in their own heads, moving quickly from gatherer to disseminator in minutes. In the disseminator role, you may decide who should receive information, how much of it, how often, and in what form. In the spokesperson role, you may send information to people outside your organization: an executive makes a speech to lobby for an organizational cause, or a supervisor suggests a product modification to a supplier. You may even be asked to deal with representatives of the news media.
Informative presentations aim to provide information without offering recommendations or attempting to persuade the audience to take a particular action. They help educate or instruct employees, customers, or other stakeholders with information that can help them in their work or understand how an organization operates. When presenting in an informative manner, you will provide data, facts, feedback, and other information. Some examples of informative presentations in the workplace may include briefings, instructional presentations or training, project updates (status or progress reports), and press conferences.
Briefings
Traditionally, briefings are only a few minutes long and provide a situational summary (Adler, 2019). These presentations can be informal and conversational, rarely needing visual support. While briefings may appear to be simple, they can be critical in setting the agenda for a work shift, sharing valuable information, or providing a clear intention for the work to come. Briefings should be clear and organized, following a logical flow of information and an introduction-body-conclusion format.
Instructional Presentations
Trainings may be the most well-known instructional presentations. Training varies in length, content, and goals based on the audience's needs and the content's complexity (Adler, 2019). While not always the case, a lot of training involves orienting and developing employees. When employees are hired, orientation and onboarding training generally take place. This may be followed by on-the-job training (OJT) or special task training. Compliance training and development training are often common in the workplace. When planning a training: identify your goal, determine how much time will be needed, determine what resources will be needed (e.g. space, online capabilities, printed materials, technology items, etc.) and organize your content with an introduction, body of training, and recap (conclusion). When delivering your content, help the audience understand why this information is important to them and link the new material to what the audience might find familiar. Training is a great time to think about reducing jargon as well - especially if the trainees are new to the organization.
A webinar is a live broadcast that allows organizations to share information and engage with key stakeholder audiences, usually consumers or employees. Webinars can be beneficial for companies wanting to showcase a product or policy to customers or employees, train employees on new or updated policies or offerings, gain new customers, build authority in a respective industry, or educate the audience about the company (Birt, 2023). For further information on webinars, see the additional resources below.
Project Reports & Updates
Project updates can be progress/status reports or final reports. These could include cost-benefit analysis or trends analysis reports, safety updates, research results, or any type of project update. These generally give an account of what you or your team has learned or completed. A status report or progress report includes sharing the current state of your project, including any obstacles you have encountered, and forecasting the project in terms of next steps, future milestones, or pathway to completion. A final report is given upon the completion of a project or undertaking. Final reports vary in level of formality and detail. Some final report presentations may be 10 minutes and conversational, while others may be an hour or more and extremely formal. In a final report, you will usually take time to introduce yourself and the work you completed, provide any necessary background on the project, describe what happened, describe the results, and share how more information may be obtained. Formal written reports are commonly requested in conjunction with these types of presentations.
Press Conferences
Another type of informative presentation with the purpose of sharing important information or new information is a press conference. These generally allow invited journalists to ask questions of a candidate, company, or organization. When planning a press conference, a newsworthy story is chosen, a time and location are determined, a written press release is sent, and the chosen speakers rehearse to ensure a smooth delivery of the critical message.
*While this is not an all-inclusive list of informative presentations you may encounter in the workplace, the hope is that you use this as a starting point for understanding the basic elements and how to approach them.
What Is a Webinar and How Does It Work? (With Tips) | Indeed.com
Attribution:
Content for the opening paragraph of this section was modified from the following:
Organizational Behavior (Chapter 11.3) Copyright © 2019 OpenStax by J. Stewart Black and David S. Bright is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
References:
Adler, R. B. (2019). Communicating at work: Strategies for success in business and the professions. (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Birt, J. (2023, September 29). What is a webinar and how does it work? Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-webinar
Indeed Editorial Team. (2023, February 3). Indeed.com. 8 Types of workplace presentations; Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/types-of-presentations
Indeed Editorial Team (2023, March 29). Indeed.com. 7 Ways to train employees effectively; Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/train-employees