Presenting to your peers is (relatively) easy. The stakes
aren’t high. If you screw up, they’ll usually let it slip.
But executives are different. Executives get things done
through delegating to other people. So, they are always looking for who they
can trust – and who they can’t. Make a good impression and the exec is likely
to give you more responsibility in the future. Make a bad impression and you
earn a place on their “do-not-trust” list. Either way, it affects your career.
Executives are a special audience for presentations. And
the stakes are high. Here are FIVE TIPS to keep in mind to ace your next
executive presentation.
1. Get to the point in one minute.
Executives exist in
high-pressure environments. With 80 hour weeks, emergencies cropping up, high
stress loads and demanding bosses and shareholders. TIME is one of their most
precious commodities.
So don’t waste it by arriving late, fumbling with the
projector (“why won’t it connect?”), making long rambling introductions and so
on. Get to the point as quickly as you can. Within the first minute, if at all
possible. There’s a good chance the exec is itching to interrupt you and
barrage you with questions so get to your main point before the presentation is
derailed.
2. Talk about problems winning in the marketplace.
Executives don’t
care about today’s problems. That’s someone else’s job. Executives have their
minds focused on the next three years and what it will take to beat
competitors, reach new customers, hold onto existing customers and increase
margins. So, talk to them about the problems they will have winning in the
marketplace, and how your ideas will help them. If you can’t talk to them about
that, you’ll get bumped down to some department head – and well you should.
3. Sell a vision before discussing the details.
This is especially
true for sales people. Don’t walk into a meeting with an executive and start talking
about your super-wonderful fully-guaranteed remote-controlled electronic
bobbin. Execs will immediately focus on cost and product features, often ending
the meeting with “We’ll get back to you” so they can have someone research
prices.
Instead, focus on painting a vision of a better future –
hopefully one that maps onto their three-year goals. Once they’re nodding at
the vision – and ONLY after they’re nodding at the vision – should you talk
about your product’s details. Cost is likely to be less of a concern now.
4. Lead with stories, not data
. Executives respect
data and making data-driven decisions. But they are also realistic about what
data can – and cannot – tell you. They’ve seen many projects fail despite the
glowing research results. And they’ve seen boot-strap projects succeed despite
the lack of any data to back it up.
Executives often trust their guts more than they trust
data. They consider customer stories, quotes from their largest channel
partners and competitor moves just as valid as data. So use that. Come to
executive presentations armed with lots of stories and introduce stories first,
then the data to back it up.
5. Don’t be afraid of executives; be afraid FOR them
. Because the stakes
are high, and executives often shoot presenters for sport, people are naturally
nervous presenting to executives. But this fear will only work against you and
broadcast your lack of confidence. So, adopt a different mindset: be afraid FOR
executives.
