Question: The length of the document should be at least 8 to 12 pages, double space. Please remember to include the cover page.
The trade attaché is leading a trade delegation to the USA and must prepare a 5-7 slide marketing presentation for a product in which the country has a competitive advantage. The slides in a powerpoint format are the summary of what will be in the paper (please remember that the paper should be of at least 8 to 12 pages). The elements to include in the first slide are the following: the title of the topic, the names of the trade attaché, the name of the foreign country, the course number and name, and the date, month and year of the presentation. The following slides will include the summary of the paper. The last slide is for the reference list.
The presentation should include slides and detailed speaker notes on the following topics:
1. Identification of the target market companies in the USA.
2. Background information on the country the trade attaché represents
• Political, economic, social and cultural including infrastructure such as human resource availability, skills, transportation, telecommunications, banking and other commercial support services.
3. Data identifying the country's current level of trade with the USA.
4. Currency information and exchange rate trends over the past three years.
5. Data identifying the current level of industry and product capacity in the country.
6. Data identifying export sales volume and value of the product and identification of countries and companies that are importing the product ranked in order of volume.
7. Persuasive information and defense of current trade policy related to the country and product.
8. Persuasive information and defense of any ethical or other risk factors such as human rights, political instability, currency weakness and terrorism.
9. Summary of the benefits of doing business with the country and the value of the represented industry products to the target market customers.
Additional things to consider: As a foreign trade attaché, you should be aware of the cultural differences and potential language barriers between your own country and the USA. As you make your presentation you will need to demonstrate this awareness in your introduction; for example, by greeting your audience using both your own and the USA's form of greeting. Think creatively here about how you can add some authenticity to your presentation.
Presentations in front of your classmates should be of 5 minutes in length so you will need to practice to ensure that you convey essential information effectively only within the above allocated minutes. The trade attaché (in this case the student) should hand a copy of his/her paper and powerpoints presentation to the instructor before or immediately after the presentation.
Students in the audience will take the role of potential US customers for the products the trade attaché represents and are required to ask two questions immediately after the presentation. Questions must reflect an awareness of US trade policy, should probe for further information from the trade attaché that would help the customer to make a decision about whether or not he/she may be interested in pursuing the business opportunity that the trade attaché is offering to him/her.
The trade attaché must respond to each of the questions thoroughly and persuasively.
Mechanics.
1. Use 5-7 PowerPoint slides to highlight the main points of your presentation
• Your slides should be readable from someone seated in the back of the room. An easy and practical test is to print a slide on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, stand up and put the sheet of paper at your feet. If the copy is legible from that distance the slide will probably be acceptable to those people sitting at the back of the room.
2. Use graphics and charts where appropriate
• You will want slides that have good contrast between the background and the copy or artwork. In a well lighted room a dark ground with bright colored letters is more appropriate where as in a darker room you might want a light background with darker letters.
3. Use no more than 6 words per line, 6 lines per slide
• The suggestion of six lines of copy and six words per line is a good ballpark standard. You want to avoid full sentences unless it is a definition or a quote. Obviously, most of your slides will not make much sense without the narration that will accompany them; and that is appropriate.
4. Use the notes feature to provide more detailed information and justification for your decisions.
• Let's say that you were scheduled to give your presentation to a group of 25 participants and on the day of the presentation all the participants were on hand but you are sick in bed and cannot make the presentation. One of your teammates must be selected to make the presentation for you but is not aware of what you wanted to say for each slide. Here is where the notes on PowerPoint are important. The notes will have much of the content of the normal project paper and perhaps written in a more conversational style. The notes serve as a reminder to you about what you want to present with each slide. When you are absent, the notes will tell the substitute presenter what you had to say about each slide.
5. Follow directions related to content and information sources.
6. Please use college level English appropriate to the course material.
7. Use APA format for citation and references.
8. Check for errors of spelling and grammar.