Accounting and finance professionals require specific knowledge in their jobs. Same as professionals in other industries, they also need to possess some generic skills such as communication and presentation skills because these are the basic requirements in the workplace in any industry.
To equip sub-degree business and accounting students with basic accounting knowledge and communication skills required by employers nowadays, ACCA Hong Kong has organized the ACCA Hong Kong Business Competition 2008.
In this competition, participants have to develop a business plan for an international event. They can practice skills in risk-taking, decision-making and negotiation in a simulation of real-life experience in the accounting and finance industry. Before the final competition, short-listed students have to attend a presentation skills workshop on effective presentation and public speaking skills.
These skills are necessary for accounting and finance professionals in all career levels. No matter you are going to put forward your ideas in internal meetings or present reports to clients, sound presentation and public speaking skills are essential.
Allan Lee, Co-chairman of Student Affairs Sub-committee, and Horace Ma, Co-chairman of Professional Development Sub-committee, ACCA Hong Kong, points out 6 areas we need to pay attention to in presentation:
- Posture
- Maintain a proper standing posture. If you want to walk on the stage, you have to walk with a purpose.
- Gesture
- Be natural. Put / move your hands properly.
- Speech Control
- Practice is important. The tone should be loud and clear, and not to be too flat or high in pitch. Stress or repeat words that are important.
- Eye Contact
- Maintain eye contact with the audience. Even if you are not the one to speak but you are on the stage, have confidence and keep eye contact with the audience.
- Dealing with Stress
- Learn to breathe deeply can help you deal with stress.
- Using Tools
- Make good use of various tools available. For example, adjust the volume of the microphone. Do not write your whole speech on the note-cards and read them; note-cards are for putting main points only.
Lee says that an effective opening and a good closing are essential in presentation. ¡§In the opening, remember to state your purpose and objectives.¡¨ He says that the speech has to be convincing and credible. ¡§To do this, you have to be confident in yourself.¡¨ In closing, it is necessary to summarize the presentation. He advises participants to prepare in advance questions the audience will ask. Last but not the least, thank the audience.