Does communication training make a difference?: Evidence for the effectiveness of a presentation skills program

Abstract

This paper reports an evaluation of presentation skills training for participants from manufacturing, service, production, and research organizations using a repeated‐measures quasi‐experimental comparison‐group design. In addition to posttest assessments of participants’ reactions and learning, participants’ self reports of sixteen behavioral skills were assessed across three time periods. Similar analyses were employed to test for co‐workers’ ratings of program participants’ long‐term improvement. Statistical analyses of participants’ responses (controlling for the number of comparisons) revealed positive reactions to the training, improvement in learning, as well as short‐term behavioral change in eight of the sixteen skills taught. Long‐term change was found in seven of the dependent measures. On‐the‐job change was found in three skills. Taken together, improvement was found in all but two of the skills areas in the training. Analyses of co‐workers’ ratings of participants’ skills also revealed that trainees had improved on twelve of the sixteen presentation skills after the program.