Ask Ms. Career Girl: Presentation Protestation

I am pleased to be able to ask my burning question!

About the situation: I currently work in a senior position in a small company. I have good relationships with both my bosses, two proud fathers with happy family lives. They often express they like my ideas and my work, and they also say they are happy to have hired me back ( I had my internship here some years ago).

They acknowledge my good work, and I know my strengths, but my presentation skills are weak, and that is really frustrating me and making me very insecure.

During a former performance review we talked about eventual training on presentation. They were open for it. So today I sent a proposal for an external training with a reasonable rate. They responded back that one of the bosses would train me himself, saying the reason why is because he isn’t sure if the quality of the training will be that good. I had no choice then to agree to their ‘inhouse training’, but I have my doubts. Are my bosses being cheapskates, not wanting to pay the money, or is this a positive sign?

I am also wondering if this will hurt my chances to be promoted, as I am in the lower position, or will this training from my boss allow me to be seen as more capable?

I look forward to your advice.

Kind regards,

Victoria

Dear Victoria,

I commend you for taking the initiative to follow up on your interest in presentation training. While it may seem like your bosses are being cheap, I would give them the benefit of the doubt and take up their offer for in-house training. While this session is not being done by a professional, there may be some nuances they prefer in presentations for your company that could be beneficial to you in potential for advancement.

If you find the training to be a waste of time or not detailed enough, there is always room to ask for additional coaching. Without looking like you didn’t benefit from your boss’s presentation, you can tell them you would be interested in taking on a role to train other employees in presentation management, and would love an additional class to help you prepare for this new role. Not only does that show you are interested in more responsibility with the company, it can get you the formal training you are seeking.

Be well,

Alissa