Presenting Your Findings
Hilary McLellan

The only true measure of the success of competitive intelligence is whether or not the user used the intelligence he was presented. Larry Kahaner

Presenting Your Analysis

Once you have implemented your competitive intelligence research and analysis, you need to present the information to your client and other interested parties. You want your message to get across. Here are some suggestions from Kahaner (1996):

• The analysis must be responsive to management's needs. The CI analysis must be succinct, and it must help managers make better decisions.
• The analysis must be focused, not general. According to Kahaner, "You must make a decision on the most likely choice and defend it."
• The analysis must be timely.
• High trust level --- to overcome some managers' distrust of competitive intelligence. As Kahaner explains, "Despite the fact that everything a company does - from managers making decisions to using management tools like TQM and Customer Satisfaction - involves the flow of information and intelligence many managers resist setting up CI units in the companies. Why? The most important reason is attitude, the way managers -- especially conservative, in-the-box managers -- think about intelligence."
• Results must be in the best form for management. Thus, knowing how managment accepts intelligence reports is crucial. People prefer to take in information visually, aurally or kinesthetically. And of course, just about everyone responds to stories!

Effective Presentations

The presentation "Checklist" presented below are excerpted from Henry M. Boettinger's book Moving Mountains: Or the art of letting others see things your way. This book is oriented toward making presentations of information in a business context, but Boettinger's ideas have universal value. Boettinger's broad ranging knowledge and thoughtfulness shine through the entire book. A bit of it is dated, but not much.

Boettinger's guide splits into two parts. As Boettinger explains, "The first is designed like the checklist used by aircraft pilots before takeoff. It may be useful in inspection of a proposed presentation to insure that nothing important has been overlooked or taken for granted. The second is intended as an evaluator of the presentations of others. Critical examination of presentations as a member of the audience can furnish valuable lessons for your personal improvment. Those superior raise standards and suggest new approaches; those inferior furnish object lessons on what to avoid."

Boettinger's Checklist provides an overview of the key concepts that he identified over a successful career in business. Boettinger explains: "I have heard and watched practitioners in most areas of modern life in their attempts to persuade --- lawyers, natural and social scientists, soldiers, civil servants, executies, physicians, engineers, foremen, politicians, mechanics, labor union leaders, shop stewards, artists, musicians, architects, philosophers, film makers, advertising men, accountants, college students, clubwomen, men of the cloth, sundry teachers, and lesser breeds without the law, to name a few. Some were eminent, most unknown. All were persons of intelligence, having something worthwhile to say, but the range of persuasive skill ran from embarrassing, painful failures (including cases of physical collapse) to skillful performers whose presentations were perfectly tuned to their audiences, and who made changing your mind an exhilarating experience. What makes the difference? Neither schooling, material, nor rank --- of this I'm sure. Whether the audience was one or a thousand, success invariably attended only those who both understood and presented their ideas from the viewpoint of the needs and characteristics of the persons in their audience. (p. 2)" (Italicized text from the original)

A. Preflight Check for a Presentation

1. Problem-Statement

• What are the two clashing images?
• What exists?
• What do you want to exist?
• Which of the various forms of statement is best:
  • Historical Narrative
  • Blowing the Whistle
  • Crisis
  • Adventure
  • Disappointment
  • Response to an order
  • Opportunity
  • Revolution
  • Crossroads
  • Evolution
  • Challenge
  • The Great Dream Confession

2. Opening Sentence --- Will it excite the interest of the audience?

3. What is the "plan" of development?

• Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis, etc.

4. Do you have examples or anecdotes?

5. What devices do you have to get and hold attention?

• Is there a balance between Reason, Emotion, and Common Sense?
• Can you use assertion, refutation, doubt, and affirmation?

6. Style

• Have you made it as brief as possible?
  • Is it oversimplified?
  • Is it overembellished?
  • Are there any tortured passages?
  • Are there any embarrassing ones?
• Is every point clearly expressed?
• What alternations in mood exist?
• Is there a mixture of the lofty and commonplace?
• Can you use suspense or mystery?
• Do you need a recapitulation?
• If a multiple presentation, is a leader appointed?

7. Is the tone one of equality, dominance, or submissiveness?

• Do you really believe in the idea itself?

8. Is the group small or large?

• If large, do you have some humor to "break the ice"?

9. What prejudices, fears, or constraints can you expect from this audience?

10. Have you checked the room for distractions? Have you neutralized them?

11. Is the room layout one that encourages discussion?

12. Are visual aids appropriate?

• Does each one carry a statement of its significance?
• Are the best graphical methods used for statistics?
  • If technical, have they been checked for competence by experts?
• Is their size correct?
• Are they related to one another so that someone could extract your message from the set of visuals alone?

13. Have you identified the weak points?

14. What cross-examination questions would you ask if you were in the audience?

• Do you have an answer for each one?
• If challenged on your competence, can you reply appropriately?
• Have you identified those in your audience who may oppose, and who are neutral?

15. Do you state clearly: (1) What you want the audience to do when you are finished? (2) What you wish them to believe?

• Does every point made lead to your ending statement in some way?
• Does the audience need to make great leaps to get to you conclusion?

16. Does the presentation use any special vocabularies unfamiliar to your audience?

• Have these been translated into terms intelligible to them?

17. Are unfamiliar techniques employed?

• Have these been explained?
• Have you established why these are used instead of more familiar methods?

18. Have you considered alternative methods of presenting technical points?

19. If the presentation is a "project" type, have you touched the five areas common to all programs?

• Personnel
• Intelligence
• Operations
• Supply
• External Relations

20. Have you exposed the ideas involved to the original, inquiring, and skeptical minds among your acquaintances?

B. Evaluation List for Presentations of Others

1. Is the opening interesting?

2. Is the problem stated clearly?

3. Are the points developed to give a well-rounded view of all relevant aspects?

4. Is the action or belief desired stated clearly?

5. Does the presentor show that he has a vital and passionate interest in the idea presented?

• Is he dominant, submissive, or does he treat the audience as equals?

6. Is the style appropriate for the content?

• Brevity
• Clarity
• Variety
• Mystery or Suspense
• Recapitulation

7. Does the presentor explain or translate technical material well?

8. Are the visuals well designed and related to each other?

9. How well is cross-examination and discussion handled?

10. Is the layout of the room distracting, or does it inhibit discussion?

11. Are the examples, anecdotes, or humor relevant to points made and matched to the style selected?

12. Does the presentor's idea appeal to Reason, Emotion, and Common Sense?

13. If a "project" type presentation, does the presentor take note of all relevant factors?

• Personnel
• Intelligence
• Operations
• Supply
• External Relations

14. Is the impression created by the presentor one which inspires the confidence of the audience?

• Are there any embarrassing points?
• Are there any nervous or irritating mannerisms?
• Is there a willingness to listen to the suggestions of the audience?

15. Did you learn anything new, or discover new ways to look at the old?

16. Did you see any new approaches which you can use in your own presentation in the future?

References

Boettinger, H. M. (1969). Moving Mountains: Or the art of letting others see things your way. (1969). NY: Collier Macmillan Publishing Company.

Kahaner, L. (1996). Competitive intelligence: How to Gather, Analyze, and Use Information to Move Your Business to the Top. New York: touchstone.

Additional Resources

McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics: The invisible art. New York: HarperCollins.

Tufte, E. R. (1990). Envisioning information.. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press. A great follow up to Tufte's other book.

Tufte, E. R. (1983). The visual display of quantitative information.. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press. One of the best books about visual design ever written, focused on the visual display of statistical information.