Deliver a presentation: Case study
‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd (Part 2)
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:
1. 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
This case study will focus on presenting content in an effective way.
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 now 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 requested 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, actively seeks out presentation opportunities in order to develop her skills in this area. She has offered to prepare and present this important information to the new groups of young workers. Shannon was given the job.
Over the past two weeks, Shannon has thoroughly researched safety matters. She prepared a session plan, visual aids, checked the venue and equipment, collaborated with her colleagues for their input and practised her communication skills. She also identified her audience characteristics and tailored her session plan in order to engage them actively.
Today Shannon is delivering her very first oral presentation; her audience being a group of ten new apprentices and trainees. Shannon’s mantra is “this is not about me – this is about the audience.” She shifts her mindset from her needs to audience needs.
See how it’s done
In order to deliver an effective presentation, Shannon will:
1. Explain and discuss desired outcomes of the presentation with the target audience
2. Use presentation aids, materials and examples to support target audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas
3. Monitor non-verbal and verbal communication of participants to promote attainment of presentation outcomes
4. Use persuasive communication techniques to secure audience interest
5. Provide opportunities for participants to seek clarification on central ideas and concepts, and adjust the presentation to meet participant needs and preferences
6. Summarise key concepts and ideas at strategic points to facilitate participant understanding
Shannon was confident throughout the presentation. Her body language matched her verbal communication and her voice was clear, her gestures appropriate and she made eye contact regularly with the audience.
Shannon’s confidence extended to using the laptop and overhead projector where she had internet access and a brief PowerPoint slideshow. Shannon was very keen to keep the slides to an absolute minimum as many times she has observed other presenters using too many slides with too much content in each slide. At these times, Shannon found that the slides detracted from the presentation rather than complement it. Shannon didn’t make this mistake with her presentation.
Shannon was also very careful to not read from her notes. Although she prepared a very comprehensive speech, she’d practised the content well and only had the speech to refer to if she needed it.
All Shannon’s resources were prepared in advance, and her strategies were well practised.
Check out some of Shannon’s resources, take a look at her presentation plan and read her speech notes to gain an insight into how Shannon conducted her very first presentation.
Shannon’s Presentation Plan
Topic / Safety Awareness for young workers / Date:Objectives / 1. follow safety procedures
2. report safety hazards
3. correctly wear safety gear &
4. not put others at risk
Preparation / Setup wireless laptop with internet displayed on projector
Get 10 copies of Safe Working Procedures for each section
Get 10 copies of the case studies from WorkCover NSW site
Plan
Order / My actions / Audience actions / Time
Welcome / Hello, housekeeping, objectives, etc / Their commitment / 5 mins
Introduction / Me state startling WorkCover facts / 5 mins
Body / Questions
Case studies
Our Policies & Procedures
Supervisors role & help
Our commitment to you
Hunt the hazard demonstration
Answer questions / Read & discuss in pairs
Watch & comment (only if time)
Pose question to me? / 5 mins
15 mins
15 mins
5 mins
Conclusion / Recap objectives - YouTube / Watch / 10 mins
Review your commitment / Look back & compare
Thank you and farewell
Shannon’s verbal presentation that she practised so that she didn’t have to read it
(Welcome & Introduce myself)
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ‘Safety Matters 2U4U’ training. My name is Shannon Wells. I’m the Administration Officer in the HR section. This morning we’re going to look at young workers safety at work. We will be concentrating on:
· Firstly, following safety procedures
· Secondly, reporting safety hazards
· Next, correctly wearing safety gear and finally
· Not putting other people at risk
This session is not about me, it’s about you and other young workers just like you. I’m not going to do too much talking you’ll be happy to hear, I’m sure. I’m going to ask you to use a few resources and find out about workers safety yourself. I’m just going to guide you through some resources, that’s all. Oh, and answer any questions that you might have to, of course.
Before we start though, there’s two things that I’d like to draw attention to, housekeeping and your commitment.
About housekeeping - you’ll find the amenities to the left and in the event of an evacuation please follow the instructions of Tom, our floor warden. And please put your phone on silent. If you have any questions, could you please jot them down and we’ll have a question and answer time towards the end of our presentation. Thanks for that.
About commitment – how committed are you to doing the right thing at work? On a scrap of paper, I want you to write down your level of commitment to our session today. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being low and 10 being high), how committed are you to being involved in our session today? Be honest and keep this to yourself, don’t show anyone.
(Introduction to topic)
Did you know, in NSW in one year:
· 181 people died at work. This is like two full school buses crashing and killing all aboard (Pause)
· 58,604 were injured or made sick from work. This is more than the crowd at the Big Day Out concert at Homebush. (Pause) This cost $2 billion in that year and
· 9,209 of these workers were under 25. (Pause)
(Body of presentation)
Question – what might happen if you don’t follow safety procedures, report hazards, or look out for each other at work?
Let ‘s look at some young people where safety procedures were either not in place or were not followed.
Case studies (resource attached) – In pairs, read the case studies and let’s discuss what went wrong and the effects that these tragedies will have on the worker and / or their families, friends and co-workers.
Question – can we learn from any of these case studies? What similar hazards are at Kar Magician’s?
Let’s have a look at some of our company’s safety procedures now.
(Samples for each person and discuss together).
Young workers join the workforce keen and ready to please. Usually they don’t talk about things that concern them. This makes them particularly vulnerable.
According to WorkCver NSW statistics, young workers face greater risks of injury and death than any other group of workers in NSW. Inexperience, fear of asking for help and lack of training or education means they have a disturbingly high injury rate. Over 16 young people are injured at work each day in NSW alone.
Unfortunately, young workers sometimes think that injuries and incidents are par for the course, and that if they report a risk, hazard or injury they will lose their jobs. This should never be the case. This is definitely not the case at Kar Magician.
There are people who can help and you should never do something that you think could be dangerous or unhealthy. Your supervisor and the OHS Officer can help you to follow safety policies and procedures. You cannot be bullied into doing something or fired for not doing it. We have to look after each other at work and not cause anyone else to have an accident. In fact, all workers can be fined for putting other people's health and safety at risk.
Did you know that:“there are laws in NSW which mean that the boss must make sure that the work is done safely in a safe work environment. Unsafe workplaces are against the law
· you cannot be fired for complaining about or formally reporting a safety issue
· you should be given training in safe work procedures, the use and operation of equipment and the handling of hazardous materials
· you will be consulted on safety issues that will have a direct impact on you, and that your comments and views on these will be greatly appreciated
· you must work in a safe way and co-operate with your boss and follow established health and safety rules.”
Don’t take anything for granted - what at first looks harmless could turn out to be dangerous and what seems like simple fun could become life-threatening. A good way to find out if a situation is dangerous is to look for any potential hazards. If you find any then you should investigate them further and then try and get the hazards fixed.
Display Interactive Activity on overhead (if time permits or as an energiser if audience seems bored) – Hunt the hazards.
Source: http://workcover.cadre.com.au/index_1st.html
Questions. Does anyone have any questions at the moment?
Conclusion
So, in conclusion, rather than me recap our main points let’s hear from a young worker who knows plenty about unsafe workplace. (Play YouTube story of Greg)
Statistics show that a high proportion of workers under the age of 24 will be injured during their first year at work. Some of these injuries will result in permanent disability, ongoing pain and in extreme cases death. Don’t let this happen to you or your mate.
How committed are you now (on a scale of 1 – 10)? Compare your commitment to your earlier score.
Thank you for your attention today.
WorkCover NSW Case Studies
(Source: http://workcover.cadre.com.au/index_1st.html )
Cases studies downloaded from WorkCover NSW website for educational purposes only
Working with Chemicals
1. A factory hand aged 16, was overcome by fumes while working inside an empty petrol tanker at Smithfield. He was found lying unconscious inside the tank and rushed to hospital, where he died the next day.
2. An employee in a crayfish processing factory received painful burns to her legs, abdomen, arms and face when using a metal cleaner that contained 8% hydrofluoric acid and 8% sulphuric acid. She required emergency treatment at hospital. Neither the worker nor the boss had read the label which warned of the hazard and neither knew that the cleaner contained hydrofluoric acid. No material safety data sheet was available. The employee used the cleaner undiluted and scrubbed the surfaces. When she got the acid on her skin she did not realise the importance of stopping work and taking first aid measures.
3. A hairdresser in a theatrical company was styling wigs. The hairdresser worked all day in a room approximately 30 square metres in size. Two sides of the room were set up especially to style wigs. The room did not have any natural ventilation and no artificial ventilation was provided. WorkCover monitoring showed that she was exposed to high levels of acetone which is an ingredient of the hairspray used. Acetone irritates the eyes and mucous membranes which is why the hairdresser was suffering from sore eyes and throat. WorkCover suggested that the most effective way to reduce the risk to chemical exposure was to improve the ventilation in the room or remove or dilute the acetone.