I attended a meeting recently to observe the facilitator and to provide coaching tips. My first challenge was just staying awake long enough to take notes. This person could qualify for the next miracle sleeping aid. It would not have mattered how exciting the content was, the delivery was painful and the result was a room full of hopeful attendees who were driven to making their grocery lists and checking their emails.

This is a management problem masquerading as a bad presenter.  In this particular instance, the direct manager recognized the need for presentation skills for his employee, and took action. But often it is easier to allow untrained, unprepared individuals to waste the time and productivity of fellow co-workers. Nobody wins with that decision. Meetings are not one-on-one discussions; they can involve hundreds of attendees. A poor presenter can suck all the excitement out of a room, diminish the overall intended message, and waste precious time for everyone.

Invest in your employees who you rely upon to communicate your message. It is a reflection on you as a manager if your employee does not have the skill to do their job. Training is essential and most companies have good trainers available to provide all forms of communication skills training.  Use them, or find a resource to address the problem.  Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away and is unfair, and costly, for the employee and the company.  It would also help if  you take care of it before I have to sit through their next meeting. I’m all caught up on my sleep.