Characteristics of the audience must you consider
Effective business communication is an important aspect in business presentations because the quality of business decisions made often depends on how well individuals communicate within the organization. Communicators must be able to communicate with their audience effectively so that their intended message can be captured and interpreted effectively.
Business presentation and in this case presenting quarterly sales information should be approached carefully in order to ensure that the main message and objective of the communication is achieved (Dick, Carey & Carey, 2009). Organizations are made up of functional areas and different department which consists of individuals and thus the way your present yourself to your closest colleagues may not be the way you should communicate and present your point before other parties.
Some of the characteristic that are to be considered by a speaker include; Age, gender, ethnicity, rank within the organization, race, cultural background and education level. It is thus important to keep presentations simple since overcomplicating facts may be detrimental to the overall purpose of the presentation (Morrison, Ross & Kemp, 2001). Since individuals attending the presentation may be from different departments it is important to use language that is simple due to varying education and knowledge levels.
Speakers are also required to tailor their presentations so that their messages are gender sensitive and not insensitive to the culture of those within the audience. It is vital to avoid making comments and statements that may appear as sexist or culturally insensitive and offensive to particular individuals within the audience (Pincas, 2001). Speakers while dealing with individuals from diverse family backgrounds and cultural backgrounds should be careful and use language that is acceptable.
If in attendance of the presentation consists of superiors and even the C.E.O, it is important to ensure that a more formal communication is used and that the presenter is time conscious in order to save time because top level managers are always on a tight leash as far as time is concerned. In summary, a speaker making a presentation concerning sales should be sensitive to the various members within the audience and tailor makes his/her presentation to appeal and not offend them in any way (Locker & Kienzler, 2008).
Appropriate communication channels
Communication channels are very important in communication because they ensure the transmission of a particular message. Communication channels act as a medium by which the sender of information can be able to encode his/her message so that the audience can decode and understand him/her (Pincas, 2001). Making sales reports especially quarterly or periodic sales reports should be done carefully so that the right message is ingested by the audience.
Sales reports are usually quantitative and qualitative in nature and thus the speaker should use the most appropriate and effective channels such as face to face, mass media (that is, emails) electronic channels, which include (computer software, projectors, printers, speakers) additionally writing channels such as market boards and pointers are most effective in this case ( Dick, Carey & Carey, 2009).
The use of such channels will ensure that the core message of the speaker which is presenting quarterly sales reports is transmitted to the audience more effectively because it will have both visual and verbal aspects which will make it easier for the Audience to assimilate the message and understand the intentions of the speaker. It is important to choose the right communication channel so that the message in discussion is not distorted during transmission.
The correct channel of communication will enable both the audience and the speaker to be at par by ensuring that the process of communication is effectively carried out in order for the main objectives of the communication to be achieved. Whichever channel of communication that will be used it is important to ensure that the communication need of every member of the audience are catered for and that they understand the message that is being transmitted by the speaker.
Considerations to keep in mind given the diversity of the audience
The corporate environment is developing into a global environment whereby, many individuals from different cultures exist in one social setting. Instructional environments act as a useful source of information and knowledge and are often accessed by very huge numbers of individuals and it thus becomes vital that communicated messages are culturally sensitive, family sensitive and factors in different personalities who may be part of the audience and thus universally acceptable across other cultures (Dick, Carey & Carey, 2009).
The speaker should therefore ensure that when he presents his sales information he/she avoids making generalizations that may be considered offensive, and he/she can achieve this by sticking to the subject matter and main objective of the presentation.
The speaker should thus, keep the message simple, and repeat the message in order to ensure that every member of the audience understands the message due to the different levels of speed that individuals absorb and assimilate messages (Morrison, Ross & Kemp,2001).
A speaker should thus be empathetic and look for a win-win outcome which does not offend or inconvenience one section of the audience and inconvenience the other portion of the audience. It would thus be necessary for the speaker to engage the audience and ask if any queries exist and answer their questions without deviating from facts.
Ensuring the message is effective
Messages are supposed to be designed in such a way that during communication an audience is able to get the intended message from it. Sales presentations are supposed to be supported by visual and audible media in order to keep the audience active and captivated.
The more active and engaged the audience, the more likely the subject matter and objective of the message is to be absorbed and assimilated by the Audience (Morrison, Ross & Kemp, 2001). Preplanning for the presentation actually assists in making the speaker more aware of the contents of his/her presentation giving him/her more confidence to engage the audience.
Additionally, the speaker can ensure that he/she incorporates other tools in order to ensure that his/her presentation is lively, this may include making print outs, charts, marker boards and power point presentations ( Locker & Kienzler, 2008). The speaker can also pre-send email briefs with detailed information about what is to be discussed in so that the audience would have familiarized themselves with the information and this way the audience would engage more with the speaker making the presentation more effective.
Moreover, the speaker should use simple language to deliver his her message while presenting the quarterly sales information this way the audience will be able to retrieve the necessary information from the presentation and use the information as they wish. It is thus necessary that organizational communication be carried out appropriately by speakers so that the audiences can benefit from the presentations.
References
Dick, W., Carey, L. & Carey, J. O. (2009). The Systematic Design of Instruction (7th Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Locker, K. & Kienzler, D. (2008). Business and Administrative Communication (8th edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M. & Kemp, J. E. (2001). Task Analysis in Designing Effective Instruction. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Pincas, A. (2001). Culture, cognition, and communication in global education. Distance Education: An International Journal, 22(1), 30-51.