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Project management

• Begin early: It is never too early to start.


By starting early you have more time to finish the project,
and you guarantee yourself adequate time to do a good job.

• Determine the time commitment.


o Estimate long the project, presentation or paper will take to develop
and complete
o Determine how hard the material is to research
o Set a mid-point to evaluat progress

• Break the project down into manageable sections.


This table of tasks includes a column "done by" date to help you organize
yourself and the project.

What How When:

Objectives should be SMART:

Specific

Measurable
Summarize objectives
Attainable

Relevant

Trackable

• project planning tools


(Gantt, Critical Path, PERT)
• project production tools
Determine process (word processing, demonstration
to achieve objectives software (PowerPoint), etc.
• stages of development

• critical sequencing (timeline)

as often
Verify with instructor as
necessary

• text book research


• library research
Research • field research

• other:

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• plan for gaps


Analyze • request assistance
research/findings
• mid-stream check-in

• thesis statement
Outline "product"
• individual topics

• opening paragraph
Write/Compile • body
document/presentation
• closing arguments/statement

Document & create


bibliography

Test

• product
Review and evaluate
• process

Summarize/digest

Rehearse
(presentation)

Present final product

Celebrate

What: Case studies *

• are written summaries or syntheses of real-life cases


based upon data and research
• require you to isolate and think through the key issues involved
against both theory and the larger comparative environment
• identify appropriate strategies for the resolution of the 'case'

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• weigh the pros and cons of the remedial options/strategies


• recommend and present a rationale for the best resolution

How: The process of developing a case study:

• Define the objective of the case study


• Identify the important players within the organization, the "stakeholders"
• Identify other target groups of the organization, whether clients or suppliers
• State the official mission of the organization studied
• State the historical mission of the organization
• State the understood mission of the stakeholders in the organization

• Scale the importance of stakeholders, whether in decision-making or effect of


consequences
• Outline the formal decision-making process
• Note informal decision-making processes
• Identify the process of production or service delivery
• Identify support mechanisms
• Identify competitors

What is the organizational context of the profession or of competitors?

• State the major problem


• State subsequent problems and implications
• State the role of management
• State the role of production/service providers

• Identify strategic issues


• Identify decisions needed to be made
• Identify risk factors
• Identify historical precedents

• Define remedial options


• Compare options as regards pros and cons, theory, risk factors
• Make your recommendation and justify

• Write an executive summary focusing on key elements

Know the room.


Be familiar with the place in which you will speak.
Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and
any visual aids.

Know the audience.


Greet some of the audience as they arrive.
It's easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.

Know your material.


Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.
If you're not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your
nervousness will increase.

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Relax.
Ease tension by doing exercises.

Visualize yourself giving your speech.


Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and assured.
When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.

Realize that people want you to succeed.


They don't want you to fail.
Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining.

Don't apologize.
If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have
with your speech, you may be calling the audience's attention to something they
hadn't noticed. Keep silent.

Concentrate on the message -- not the medium.


Focus your attention away from your own anxieties, and outwardly toward your
message and your audience.
Your nervousness will dissipate.

Turn nervousness into positive energy.


Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.

Gain experience.
Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking.
A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need.

Basic content:

• Build your topic from a few main ideas


State where you are going and what you will prove
• Know your audience: where are they coming from?
Cover mutual ground as a starting point
Use familiar vocabulary to begin; introduce and define new concepts gradually
Adapt the presentation's goals with the interests of your audience
Treat each audience as a unique group
• Convince them with facts and logic
Demonstrate that you know what you are talking about, but on their level!
• Review and summarize in your conclusion
Summarize what you've told them
Check for comprehension
• Leave time for questions and discussion
Follow up with options so audience can contact you

Practice by rehearsing the presentation,


recording it, or reciting it to a few friends

Techniques of delivery:

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• Put your audience at ease with a relevant anecdote or joke,


or get their attention with a dramatic gesture or event
• Use personal pronouns in your delivery
• Make eye contact with the audience
• Present your report with a conversational voice though vary it for emphasis
• Use transitions to signal the audience you're moving to a new idea
• Direct questions to your audience to get them more involved
• Conclude by summing up your main ideas, points, or arguments
• Leave time for questions, and invite feedback on
o the content (un-addressed, related ideas)
o the conclusions
o your manner of presentation
• Leave your contact information (business card) for further questions

Using visual aids or media:

• Call early and make sure hardware is compatible with your software;
and software versions of your documents are compatible with versions of
their software
• Have several versions of computerized files (on your hard drive, disk, web
site, and overhead and/or paper(!) just in case
• Come early and make sure everything works and that any media (audio,
visual, computer) can be seen, heard, understood by all
• Keep all visual materials simple in large text for visibility
• Have supportive materials for each idea
• Do not distribute handouts, even outlines, before your speech (or the
audience will focus on the reading material instead of listening to you)

Managing by exception
Work on those matters that are critical to you, and leave matters to others that are
not. Strategizing and prioritizing

Example: You tutor a child in math. You become aware that the family situation is
troubled, but you haven't the skills to help. You inform the case manager for their
action, but continue to focus on the supporting the child with his/her homework

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