AkzoNobel: Creating global presenters

The client

AkzoNobel is one of the largest global paints and coatings companies and a leading producer of specialty chemicals, with thousands of employees in Shanghai, Ningbo and other cities across China.

Employees at AkzoNobel China need a global working mindset and must communicate openly and clearly with offices worldwide. The HR team sees presentation skills as a big part of that.

The challenge

Participants came from finance, purchasing, product research and sales. Their roles varied, but all of them had to present to internal and external customers and persuade them to act. Early interviews showed they found these things hard:

• Structuring a logical presentation
• Staying confident in front of an audience in a second language
• Keeping the audience's attention
• Using suitable body language
• Preparing professional, eye-catching slides

What we designed

ClarkMorgan ran a two-day presentation programme.

Day 1 covered preparation and structure. Participants learned the AUDIENCE analysis model, how to shape a message for each audience, how to make a message memorable and how to build confidence when presenting in a second language.

Day 2 covered influencing the audience. It opened with an activity called The World's Leading Expert, then moved to presenting persuasively, building a strong conclusion and handling difficult questions. Every participant finished with a 10-minute presentation that was filmed and graded.

Before the presentation

• Confidently beginning a presentation: the 5 step introduction
• AUDIENCE analysis
• Planning your presentation
• Handling nerves

During the presentation

• Body language for presentations
• Volume, tone, speed and pauses
• Handling difficult questions
• Presenting in a second language
• Structuring and designing high-impact slides

Finishing the presentation

• Presenting in a persuasive manner
• Making a strong conclusion
• Final presentation, filmed and graded

The result

The trainer scored 4.48 out of 5 for training ability, overall effectiveness and relevance to the workplace. The HR department invited ClarkMorgan back the following year.

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