Team Consulting Recommendations Presentation – April 26, 2018, in JFF 327

Learning Objectives – Why are we doing this?

BUAD 302 is designed for you to acquire the following business communication expertise:
o Identify and discuss communication theories, models, and principles that affect
business communication across diverse industries and fields in a global landscape by
analyzing specific communication behaviors, strategies, and goals through case studies
and team discussions.
o Apply communication theories and principles to achieve communication goals by
evaluating the purpose of a message, conducting audience analysis, and selecting the
appropriate communication channel to construct and deliver presentations individually
and as part of a team in various business contexts.
o Develop an understanding and awareness of ethical principles and intercultural and
diversity factors that affect the communication process as business leaders,
managers, colleagues and employees by analyzing and explaining ethical challenges
and incidents in their cultural and organizational contexts.
o Acquire and apply an understanding of team communication dynamics, including
learning to evaluate and articulate obstacles affecting the development of team
communication and collaborative deliverables.

Assignment Description – What are we doing?

Your final presentation will address team communication challenges as you apply what you have
learned this semester about oral presentations and business communication.

Your team represents a Los Angeles-based consulting firm. An organization has hired you
to assist with a communication problem. Your team must demonstrate agility in these tasks:
 Grasping quickly the current business situation.
 Leveraging appropriate business communication knowledge.
 Analyzing relevant data with a level of objectivity unachievable within the
organization.
 Identifying and substantiating the problem(s) and then make specific and actionable
strategic and tactical recommendations with rationale.
 Presenting findings and recommended actions persuasively for a target audience.

Steps – How are we doing it?

1. Ensure the team members have read and reviewed course materials, including the
textbook, articles, and lecture notes.
2. Choose a team name that represents your consulting firm.
3. Select a client from the organizational list.
4. Identify your audience. While your audience is executives within the organization that
hired your consulting firm, categorize the audience according to the types presented in
the Harvard Business Review article “Change the Way You Persuade” and design a brief
plan for tailoring your presentation to this audience. (i.e. How will you make your topic
 resonate with this audience? How will you establish credibility with this audience? How
will you help this audience understand the importance of communication for the
operational aspects of business?)
5. After reading the details of the case, select a communication problem to address and
write an audience-focused key message to direct the presentation content.
6. Complete the team contract and upload it as a .doc or .pdf file to Blackboard.
7. Research external sources to learn more about your topic and to provide support for your
persuasive claims. Cite the sources orally during your presentation as well as in an APA-
formatted reference list attached to your content outline. See pages 412 and 430 in the
textbook for examples of reference formatting.
8. Write a content outline using a 3-part framework (introduction, body, and conclusion
using the hierarchal pyramid structure, including storytelling) with transitions and
signposts to deliver the key message. Use the outline template.
 Include the following preface information (labeled) in the content outline heading:
Client, Type of Audience, Key Message.
 Write each outline point, including main points and sub-points, as one
summarizing sentence – your content outline is a framework, not a word-for-word
script of what you intend to say.
 Include a reference list in APA format at the end of the outline.
9. Type and proofread the content outline for grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.
Then review the content for effectiveness in persuasion. Ensure the content 1) identifies
and analyzes a communication problem accurately and thoroughly, 2) substantiates its
existence by providing examples of how the problem manifests in the organization,
3) presents the source(s) of the problem from a communication standpoint, and 4)
provides specific, actionable communication-focused recommendations (strategic and
tactical) to solve the problem in the present and to prevent the problem in the future.
Whenever you meet as a team, upload the meeting agenda and meeting minutes as
.doc or .pdf files to Blackboard. The team must meet a minimum of three times.
10. Create a PowerPoint slide deck (1-2 slides per consultant – not including blank slides)
with audience-focused images and/or text to enhance your key message. Give sources on
the slides for images, charts, and figures that are not your own. While PowerPoint is
required, you may also use objects as visuals if they are large enough for everyone in the
audience to see clearly; do not pass objects around the room or use handouts. Upload an
electronic copy of your slide deck as a .pptx or .pdf file to Blackboard. After you
submit your slides to Blackboard, you may NOT make changes to your slide
content, order, etc. before the presentation. The uploaded slides will be the slides
with which you present.
11. Both individually and as a team, practice the verbal and nonverbal delivery of your
presentation. The goal is to sound conversational and to look professional yet relaxed.
Your slide deck should function as wallpaper that enhances your key message; practice
the timing of your visuals so they enrich rather than direct or distract from your
presentation. Practice positioning and transitions among consultants. Record yourselves
and watch and/or listen for areas of necessary improvement.
12. On the day of the presentation, dress in business casual attire; coordinate to appear as a
cohesive team. Bring hard copies of the rubric, the content outline, and the slide deck –
 stapled in this order – to submit to the professor before your presentation. If you do not
have an outline, you will not be permitted to deliver your presentation.
13. Deliver your presentation and showcase your passion, expertise, and hard work. You will
not be permitted to use notes during your presentation.

Grading

The team consulting recommendations presentation is worth 200 points (100 individual points
for delivery and 100 team points for content). Refer to the provided rubrics.

Note the following penalties for not adhering to the 9- to 11-minute time requirement
(approximately 2 minutes per consultant):
o If you are under the allotted time, 5 points will be deducted as well as 5 points for every
10 seconds under the minimum time requirement.
o If you reach the allotted time, you will be stopped and 5 points will be deducted.

An individual consultant will receive 0 points for delivery (approximately 50 percent of the
overall presentation grade) if s/he uses notes.

The team’s deliverables are the team contract, agendas and minutes from team meetings, the
content outline, and the PowerPoint slide deck. If you submit these deliverables late or in an
improper format, 5 points per problematic deliverable will be deducted from the team grade.

Also, if you submit your team and/or individual rubric late or do not submit a rubric, 5 points
will be deducted from your team and/or individual presentation grade as appropriate.

After delivery of the presentations, each consultant will complete a team peer evaluation form
and will upload it as a .doc or .pdf file to Blackboard. If you submit this form late or in an
improper format, 5 points will be deducted from your individual grade.

REMINDER: Since proofreading and editing are key to effective business communication,
points will be deducted for every typo and significant grammar, spelling, and punctuation
error in any of your deliverables, including but not limited to the following: factual errors and
misuse of proper nouns, subject-verb and subject-pronoun disagreement, incorrect word choice
(e.g. loose instead of lose, advise instead of advice, you’re instead of your, it’s instead of its),
and punctuation errors such as run-on sentences and incorrect comma usage.

You may ask the professor questions about the team presentation until April 24!