Inform your project stakeholders

 

How do you go about providing information to your team or your stakeholders? Do you ever consider how to be effective when informing? Not that long ago I would have simply said “I put the information in an email and I send it.”

Let’s step back and see what we need to understand when informing people.

First, you must consider that the people you address are usually adults. You must understand how adults learn. Adults learn when the material is relevant to them and relates to what they already know. You need to present in an interesting manner and involve your audience. You must repeat your key points.

Second, you must decide how you will organize your presentation. You can organize your material base on the time sequence, where one thing is done first then followed by a second, then a third. This would be appropriate when presenting a project schedule. You can organize your material by function, presenting each part. This would be appropriate when presenting a WBS. You could also structure the presentation around deduction from principles, where you build an idea from general principles. Presenting risk action plans could make use of this approach.

Finally, your delivery is important when imparting information to your audience. You must appear knowledgeable about the subject. You must also appear confident and at ease. To convey this impression, you should avoid reading from notes or slides. If standing, move around. Make eye contact with each person.

By following a structured approach, your stakeholders will want to learn from you and, more importantly, they will retain the information you present to them.