SA Chapter Executive Director
Nicolette Di Lernia

Architects are communicators.  At a primary level we translate the aspirations and needs of clients into built form, expressing our response to their brief to occupants and the wider public through the design.  This form of communication is implicit in our work and mostly only perceived at a subliminal level by the people who interact with the building.

However, we also need to communicate in very explicit ways to ensure our designs are realised in a form that it true to the underlying intent.  Submissions to clients to win the commission, to funding bodies to secure and acquit finance and to authorities to gain approval.    Documentation to consultants to deliver technical performance and to contractors to instruct them as to how the project should be constructed.  And conversations throughout to build teams, check progress, refine ideas and resolve problems.  Through verbal presentations, conversations, written submissions and drawings, architects use communication to shape and shepherd their creations.

At the end of this process, some projects are deemed worthy of consideration for an award.  These are the projects that the architect believes have gone beyond the standard outcome to deliver delight, technical excellence and functionality and enrich the built environment in ways that other projects do not.  They have achieved that alchemic convergence of engaged client, resonance with the environment, design clarity, technical resolution and consistency of team endeavour to result in something truly special.

Why then do some architects present these projects in terms of ‘what we have tried to achieve’; ‘what we think we have done’?  Why do they come clearly unrehearsed and spend a significant amount of their allotted time talking about the site conditions prior to the project or the things that did not work rather that highlighting the aspects of the project that make it, in their opinion, worthy of an award?  And if they do this in the context of the awards, how do they communicate to other audiences?

So here are my top tips for presenting:

• Understand your audience and what they are interested in. If in doubt read the ‘brief’ and make sure that you are responding to it.
• Prepare yourself. Present to colleagues, friends and family prior to the event to make sure that you can impart the key information fluently, with conviction and within the allotted time. 
• If more than one person is presenting, make sure you know who is saying what. Don’t interrupt each other.
• Make sure that you have reviewed the audiovisual content BEFORE you present it.
• Don’t include every image you think you might need – be selective and chose those that best illustrate your key achievements. If you have more than one image per 20 seconds you will run short of time and loose the opportunity to present crucial information.  You will also give your audience motion sickness as you race through the end of your presentation.
• Remember that you know more about the project than anyone else in the room. Providing you have selected your images well and rehearsed you should not need to read from notes but will be able to speak naturally about your work.  You might even be able to make eye contact with the audience.
• Use images of the project outcome to illustrate how you have responded to site conditions, exceeded expectations, enhanced performance and maximised value. Minimise images of pre-existing conditions and plans.
• It’s OK to express your pride in the success of the outcome and to highlight how you have achieved excellence.

Of course there were may people who presented with great flair to the juries.  This serves to highlight that a compelling, well prepared presentation is a great asset.  It also provides some valuable learning opportunities for other architects and leaves a great impression with the public audience members. 

So keep doing great work and honing your communications skills.  We look forward to seeing you at next year’s jury presentations, either as compelling advocates for your projects or as interested observers who are interested in learning more about the work being produced in SA and the best ways to present it.