Determination of Value: Guidance on Developing and Supporting a Credible Opinions

CHAPTER SIX

How to Develop and Report Your Opinion

ONE OF THE BEST WAYS to improve your reporting skills is to practice presenting your findings orally by using your written report. You should attempt to do so every time that you write a report. I recommend that when you do so, you use your written report as a script for your oral presentation. You may be surprised at the results.

PRACTICE PRESENTING YOUR WRITTEN FINDINGS ORALLY

Your goal should be to try to use your written report to give an oral presentation, with the challenge before you of explaining your written analytical findings in a relaxed, conversational way.

Once you have managed to orally present all sections of your report, you will need to try to get it down to a 15- to 20-minute speech. One of the benefits of this technique is that you will quickly detect bottlenecks in your analysis, analytical gaps will fly out at you, and you may even decide to change the order of your presentation.

To make this exercise productive, you should attempt it only after you have finished your written report. If you try to do it before you are finished, you may get caught in a loop of paralysis by analysis.

Conversely, every time that you may be tasked to make an oral presentation, you should at least prepare a written summation of your talking points. Then use it to practice from, for your oral presentations. Be mindful of professional ...