Discuss Data Gathering And Presentation Skills Of Consultants.

Discuss Data Gathering and Presentation Skills of Consultants.

Consultants must possess a variety of skills that help to enable them to provide the best advisory services to their clients. Two of the important skills that contribute to their profession and ability to perform the required work are data gathering and presentation skills. Exceptional presentation proficiency is especially necessary because it is essential throughout the engagement. These skills are used to pitch to clients, communicate to the staff especially in the data gathering period, to present their recommendations and persuade their clients to implement their proposal, and also to speak at conferences, workshops and training sessions.

At the start of the project the problem is defined by the consultant and confirmed by the client. The next step in the consulting process is data collection via a variety of methods. The process of data gathering can be both long and tedious and thus it is essential that consultants attain quality over quality. Some of the most frequently used techniques include group data gathering, interviews, focus groups, surveys, compiling existing documentation and on-site observation. Also some of the common tools used include the STEP analysis- a framework that reviews the external environment by focus on social, technological, environmental and political factors, the SWOT analysis that focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats relating to the organization, trend analysis and the identification of core competencies.

If the problem is researchable it is best dealt with a group approach which was pioneered by Management Performance Concepts. Good research is usually started with a hypothesis provided by the client; the consultants then use their research skills and variety of data gathering methods to either reject or accept the hypothesis after analyzing the situation and then will provide recommendations. The group interchange often contributes well to the data collection process due to the creative and thought provoking verbal discussions that aim to ensure that relevant information is not excluded.

Consulting interviews can be a difficult task; however, it is often one of the most important methods of data gathering. The best way to start the interview process is by the consultant and the CEO, or a department head, providing the interviewees with a statement that states the purpose of the engagement, the interview topics and its length, a request for cooperation and a promise of confidentiality. In the interview more comprehensive information is usually better gathered from statements rather than questions which can lead to narrow answers. Statements such as "Tell me more about..." and "Walk me through that process" are part of the 'command', leading approach which takes away the burden from consultants just asking questions. The consultant should also give helpful feedback, with reassuring words if they are going in the right direction and redirecting them if not. Focus groups are essentially group interviews centered on a particular topic and provide qualitative research. On site observations provides or confirms the information that the consultants receive in the interview and is more empirical in nature. The gaining of this first hand knowledge usually works best when the processes or procedures can be measured and analyzed for skill, knowledge or other performance discrepancies and a Subject Matter Expert (SME) is present who is familiar with the processes or environment.

After the consultants gather the data they must analyze the data, which can be aided by putting the information into spreadsheets and databases, and then they create proposals which need to be presented to the client in order to facilitate implementation. Usually the proposal is presented orally. Thus consultants have to ensure that all their time and effort does not go to waste and that they give a successful presentation.

Firstly the consultants must be prepared. Some important aspects of preparation include the identification of the objective which at this point is that the client accepts their recommendations, the identification of the audience and their wants and needs, the determination of the most important concepts to present because often information overload destroys a good presentation and also the knowledge of the length of the talk, start time and the venue. The presentation should be both opened and closed with a comprehensive synopsis and the contents should be laid