Have you reached a point in your career where you are required to present to senior executives/Leadership in your company? If you said 'Yes' to that 'Congratulation', it is awesome.
Of course, It is a great honor, however, it is a little stressful – because LT
- They are a difficult set of audiences.
- Impatient because of their hectic schedules
- Not prepared for long presentations
So, we need to avoid mundane presentations. They want.
- to get to the point right away
- want to interrupt you with their questions.
You need to be ready and uber-prepared to answer them all.
Let me share my tips and tricks to retain their attention and make them consider what you want to share.
Know your material inside and out: you need to know the scripts cold - but do not memorize them. You should not have any uncertainty about the material you are going to present.
Grab their attention: This is known as the hook. How to grab their attention?
- Tell a short relatable story – talk about the challenge you had and how you overcame it related to the topic.
- Ask the rhetorical question ‘How do we increase the Campus Recruit’s Utilization from 0% to 75% within less than 6 months?
- Share a shocking statistic OR start with a Quote/image.
Understand your audience: You need to know your audience when delivering any presentation. But when presenting to Senior Leadership, you need to organize their thoughts to make it easy for them to understand your proposal. They are always forward-thinking and result oriented. For this, you need to understand their mindset, motivation, and accountability. What are the details they need – obviously the hot buttons which are Linked to Corporative Objectives. First and foremost are money (Budget /Profit), ROI, Productivity, and Utilization - related to Efficiency. So, they can understand your request easily. This is a key point.
Use time wisely: Executives have very limited time so not a second to be wasted. Get to the point quickly and summarize always with the end in mind. They need to know what your call to action is, and what your solution is. Just use less than half of the time given for meeting in your presentations. Save the balance for Q&A. Drive the key message.
Be ready for the questions: Your presentation is not a monologue. It needs to be highly interactive. Executives with abundant business acumen will love to ask insightful questions. These are the sections that will make you shine and show how prepared you are. You will get questions that may be random, highly detailed/intense. They wanted to know anything and everything about your proposal - which will help them with their decision-making. They ask questions with current and future context. They want to know what your recommendations or tips are for those scenarios.
Summary slides: Use the 10% formula. If you plan to Share 30 slides. Have 3 summary slides. Prepare slides that say a lot.... fewer words. Slides should speak headlines. Headlines immediately draw attention to your key points. If they drill down and ask questions, then you can jump into your detailed slides. They want to see data in a compelling format so they can easily comprehend it. They should be able to take away your big idea in just 3 points.
Manage your nerves and be flexible: you are going to get nervous. Give enough time to prepare. Rehearse Rehearse Rehearse. Do enough research and check what they know, and what they need to know about your proposal. The more you know and understand them, the more effective and persuasive your presentation will be. Do a practice presentation with your manager or friend. Get feedback and correct yourself as needed.
Points to remember.
1. Position yourself as a leader - Speak to make an Impact - Do not speak to impress.
2. Do not take things personally - LT is not concerned about you as a person, they are concerned about the business.
3. Answer their questions assertively and to the point.
4. Giving the presentation to leadership elevates our career and LT will become strong promoters for your ideas.
5. Talk with Clarity, Confidence, and conviction - Do not use jargon/Abbreviations - do not ramble.
6. Do not makeup stuff - you are ok to say ‘I do not know - will check and come back after the meeting’ But remember to get back.
7. Do not present any problem without solutions. Executives want you to share the solutions and not just present challenges.
8. Look at the camera – with post-COVID, virtual meetings are here to stay. Have a good background. Look and dress well. Have enough lighting, a good microphone, and a Web camera.
9. It is common for the executive to ask you to go back and forth in your Presentation. Be Flexible. Cover what they want to focus on. The objective is not to go through all your slides, but the LT to understand the challenge and resolution you are trying to provide.
10. Do not forget your ‘ASK’ and get their buy-in from them and build trust and familiarity.
Recently had the opportunity to have a meeting with my company’s LT regarding – Campus Recruits Cost Holiday. Was able to use these tips and get the buy-in from them, and I am on the verge of implementing it.
Thank you and Good Luck!
