So, what is presentation integrity? It’s a complex subject, but in simple terms, it refers to ensuring the quality, accuracy, and honesty of pitch decks (concise presentations) a company chooses to use. From DEI and equality, to understanding the impact, here are some examples.

Original and Error-Free Content

If only to safeguard the company’s reputation, employee-created pitch decks and presentations must be original and high quality. As an HR professional, you may have to check content for errors and ensure they are free from plagiarism. Fortunately, there are tools that can help, such as a PowerPoint plagiarism checker. This ensures pitch decks remain authentic while minimizing any potential brand damage that can occur from accidental content borrowing.

Presentation Integrity through Equality

Equality in the workplace is a major concern today, and there is a lot of work to do. For example, 45% of American workers report experiencing age discrimination. Whenever data is presented, whether for public or private viewing, there must always be a focus on fairness and equality:

• Recruitment, appraisals, and reviews must treat all candidates and employees fairly.
• Acknowledge the different backgrounds that candidates can come from for inclusivity.
• Ensure candidates/employees are comfortable sharing opinions and raising concerns.

There are legal implications for mistreating individuals who possess protected characteristics. Presented data must take into account the varied backgrounds of employees or candidates who may feel they can’t raise concerns because of the group they come from, such as ethnicity.

Clear and Concise Information

A pitch deck, by its nature, is supposed to be concise and accurate. However, most people have been subjected to long-winded presentations that take half an afternoon and leave you feeling less knowledgeable than when you walked in! No one likes to sit through a presentation most of the time, so ensure your next one delivers. You can ensure a quality presentation by saying what needs to be said without beating around the bush, including only relevant data and info.

Explain Knowledge Limitations

Putting data together for a pitch deck often requires a lot of research, and sources must also be verified. However, there is often a deadline for a presentation, and some data can be limited as a result. The worst thing you can do is include potentially erroneous data and flat-out lies. If there is a lack of information that didn’t make it into the final presentation, be honest about it. Explain that the data wasn’t available and why, and commit to including it in future versions.

Accountability in Presentation Integrity

Making false claims for business gain is a crime, and individuals, and indeed companies, do During the COVID pandemic, the USA DoJ arrested over 3,500 people for fraudulent misrepresentation. Communication skills and actions such as undertaking presentations can help you become a more confident employee, but they can also help you become more reliable as you deliver accurate and honest information that serves to preserve presentation integrity.

Be aware of your actions

There are many steps in the preparation and creation of a presentation. Ensure that all necessary procedures are followed. If a mistake is made, take ownership and work to correct it.

Deliver on promises

It is common to make claims during a presentation. If promises are made, ensure you follow up on commitments. Of course, never make claims if you aren’t 100% sure you cannot deliver.

Build reliability and trust

Keeping the integrity of the presentation will help you establish trust with clients, teams and employers. Keep this in mind when creating presentations or amending existing ones.

By being mindful of your actions when including data and creating a presentation, you can avoid some of the worst mistakes. However, making bold claims you can’t deliver upon is a guaranteed way to end up in trouble, reflecting poorly on the company and destroying trust.

Private and Confidential Information

Of course, one of the biggest concerns when delivering any kind of information and data is privacy and confidentiality. Any presentation should aim to preserve sensitive information where relevant, including employee data. Data must also remain confidential and conveyed only to those authorized to receive it. So, your partner doesn’t need to know about John Smith’s medical issues! It also helps to remain vigilant about the sensitive data you share in public.

Align Decisions with Company Values

What you do as an employee, whether in HR or not, can reflect on the company. Employee actions can be scrutinized through risk assessment and are becoming a common part of risk appetite. It is the responsibility of HR, management and the organization to ensure employees uphold values, including with communication and pitch decks, as well as through actions. Presentations must be scrutinized before display to ensure company values are upheld.

The Impact of Presentation Integrity

There are many variables, but the average gives between 2 and 10 presentations per month. Every presentation you give has an impact, from minimal to severe, on the general workforce and stakeholders. To avoid negative impact, there are some things to consider:

• Understand that information in presentations affects individuals and groups.
• The data you present must be fair and accurate, with honest representation of facts.
• Your team, business, or employer can be negatively impacted because of low integrity.

Communication and data can impact others in ways you may not even anticipate, such as making them look bad. This is why data must be conveyed in a facts-based manner with no room for interpretation, or you risk negative consequences for the company and individuals.

Staying Informed and Compliant

Data is not subjective, it is fact-based. There are many sources of data and methods of doing things in HR and the wider industries change all the time. Staying informed will help you maintain integrity throughout presentation and indeed in your general work and life. A commitment to educating yourself by studying compliance requirements will enable you to make better decisions moving forward, including morals and ethics when creating a pitch deck.

Summary

Original and error-free content is a small but critical aspect of maintaining presentation integrity for pitch decks. However, there is also an aspect of accountability when providing data and information. To avoid errors and stay transparent, it helps to stay informed and compliant.