Oral presentations
Also called: Orals, Oral proposal
Updated
What is Oral presentations?
Oral presentations are a part of a proposal delivered live, in person or virtually, to government evaluators, either in place of or in addition to written material. They usually cover the technical approach, management or sample tasks, are often presented by the proposed key personnel, and can be scored under the evaluation factors.
What the FAR allows
FAR 15.102 lets agencies use oral presentations to substitute for or augment written information. Subjects such as capability, work plans and approaches, staffing, transition plans and sample tasks suit an oral format, while certifications, representations and the signed offer stay in writing. The agency keeps a record of the presentation.
Section L sets the rules: length, who may present, whether slides are allowed and counted, whether there is a question period, and whether the session is evaluated or only clarifies the written proposal.
How to prepare
Build the presentation around the evaluation factors, assign each part to the person who will do the work, and rehearse against the clock with mock evaluators asking hard questions. Agencies often want to hear from the key personnel themselves, so their answers must match the written proposal.
Common mistakes
Running over time, letting a business development lead answer questions meant for the program manager, contradicting the written volumes, and bringing slides that break the stated rules.
Some agencies run orals as a scenario or sample task revealed on the day, with limited preparation time. Practice that format too: give the team an unseen problem, set the clock, and have them present a plan that ties back to the approach in the written proposal.
Oral presentations in ProposalWorkspace
ProposalWorkspace puts the oral presentation date on the proposal deadlines with reminders, and the team can rehearse together in a voice call inside the workspace with an AI Scribe that records notes, decisions and action items.
Oral presentations: questions and answers
Are oral presentations scored?
They can be. Section L and Section M say whether the presentation is evaluated under a factor or only used to clarify the written proposal.
Who should present at orals?
Usually the proposed key personnel, especially the program or project manager, because evaluators want to hear from the people who will do the work. Check Section L for any limits.
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