Gambia Hosts Course On Specialises Report Writing Skills And Presentation Techniques

Hon. Amadou  Colley, CBG 

A nine-day training workshop on specialized report writing skills and presentation techniques,  organized by  West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), kicked off Monday, 16  April, 2012. 

In his  opening remarks, Hon. Amadou  Colley, the  Governor of  the Central Bank of The  Gambia, said the importance of effective communication in today’s economic and business milieu, and the unprecedented changes and transformation in communication, as as well as the need to keep abreast with global developments, had  compelled WAIFEM to add this course to its menu of pogrammes  since 2002.

They are aware that the response by the user institutions to WAIFEM’s call for nomination for the course has been overwhelming evidenced by its persistent over-subscription over the years. He added that effective communication does not only enable individuals, corporate bodies and the community to express their identity but, it is also the indispensable means for any meaningful collaboration. Most business decisions  involve the corporation and interaction of several individuals or bodies to realize common goals. 

As the realization of these  common  goals would be enhancing through effective communication of ideas and thoughts, lines of communication must therefore be maintained to facilitate  this  joint efforts, he urged.

Without effective communication and the team effort, he cautioned, it would be difficult to execute important projects successfully and within agreed time frame.

He stated that from  time to time fundamental and far-reaching policy measure are instituted by national authorities aim at improving performance  of specific sector and economy as a whole. However, Colley pointed out also that poor communication of policy measures and action of government and regulatory bodies often result in misunderstanding,thus impeding the achievement of desired goals. 

He said for these and other reasons, managers of the national economy are expected to possess effective communication skills. 

He hasten to add that whilst most managers might have the quantitative skill for policy formulation and analysis,that in itself is not a sufficient tool in modern economy management. 

“This is because of data gathered and analyzed but not effectively communicated and utilized for decision marking are worthless. Thus, it is equally important for managers to sharpen their communication skills to enable them pass information’s convincingly to appropriate level of decision making,” said the Governor. 

To this end, he said WAIFEM regards the addition of this course to its annual training menu as its contribution to strengthen  competences in this important, yet often neglected aspect of capacity building. 

“Successful report writing requires professionalisms, in-depth knowledge of subject discussed, concentration, and exceptional writing skills.  

“Often, reports  are written to inform, make proposals or recommendations for change, analyze and solve problems, present the findings of an investigation or project, and record process in report writing.  “You must consider clarity, organization, content and format, and take into consideration the in house style of  writing a report. Effective presentation techniques entail the use of  visual aids, a short presentation time, fewer bullet points on each slide, and making your presentation interesting by punctuating it with interesting but relevant stories,” the country’s apex bank chief informed the participants.

Giving the welcoming remarks, Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo, Director General of WAIFEM, said the institution was established by The Central Banks of The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and  Sierra Leone in 1996 to strengthen sustainable capacity for debt, financial sector and  macroeconomic management in these five countries “and now Bank of Guinea is included. This mandate  has been pursued with vigour 

“Presently, over 10,700 officials have benefited from the progammes inception. While  gratified and flattered by the adoring positive face book on our programmes , we will avoid the temptation to be complacent. 

“We know such comments from our user institution is extremely helpful in design and the delivery of our programmes. The course on report writing skill and presentation techniques is a direct response to the face book form of our user institutions,” said Prof.  Ekpo. He said today’s business organization requires constant and the large amount of internal and external communication. 

Therefore, he charged that those vested the responsibility of this role must master the communication process to enhance their job effectiveness. 

He explained that the main objective of the course is to empower the participants with the capacity to use communication as a powerful tool for job effectiveness. Specifically, the focus of the course would include developing report writers’ appreciation of the English language and enhancing their competences to structure, write and present more effective economic, financial and other reports. 

The broad themes to be covered include communication process, grammar in writing, style in writing,  guidelines or formats for preparing financial and economic reports, legal issues in report writing, computer applications in report writing, report writing practical and techniques and skills of report presentation.