After coming across an article the other day entitled “5 Tips for Presenting to Executives” by Bruce Gabrielle, it became clear to me that this is an issue that all employees with high career aspirations must always keep in mind. Knowing how to interact with senior executives within your company, or within another company for that matter, can have a tremendous impact on your career path. A good presentation can serve as a platform for future opportunities, and a bad presentation… well, I’m sure you get the picture! If you are given the chance to speak in front of corporate leaders, it quite possibly could be a make or break situation. So when it comes time to enter the boardroom, remember these suggestions in order to hone your speaking skills and ultimately master your presentation.
- Don’t beat around the bush
Guarantee your overall point is heard loud and clear, and most importantly in a timely manner. Executives are often times shuttled from meeting to meeting, so you want to make sure that your message sticks with your audience. Start strong and end stronger. Have all of your materials ready to go when the group enters the room, and deliver your remarks as a concise summary of the entire presentation.
- Take in feedback
You must remember that a presentation to executives is not a speech—you should be responsive to your audience’s feedback and absolutely leave time for a discussion at the end. Flexibility is key. If you are interrupted during what you believe to be the most important crux of your explanation, stay calm. You are learning the receiving style of your recipients, which may prove valuable in the future. You may even be able to anticipate upcoming questions, which will lead to a more seamless conversation between you and the “big wigs.”
- Have supporting information
This tip builds of the fact that you should remain flexible when giving your presentation. Questions from executives are inevitable, so you must be ready to back up every point you make with supplementary data. And executives know their business like the back of their hand, so winging the discussion section is a bad idea from the start. If you create back-up slides or spreadsheets with the expectancy of hard-hitting inquiries into your data, you will be sure to impress your listeners. (Even if they won’t outwardly admit it!)
- But don’t solely depend on data!
According to Gabrielle, “executives are realistic about what data can – and cannot – tell you.” They’ve seen projects flourish with very little supporting initial data, and they’ve seen them fail when all of the research pointed to success. So where does this leave you, the presenter of a future project? Highlight the human side of your presentation. Utilize client quotes or customer stories. If your presentation isn’t 100% technical, I promise it will be easier to deliver and ultimately lighten the mood of the boardroom. You are also like to decrease your chances of those niggling questions.
But most importantly, don’t stress! With these pointers, you are on you way to maximizing your confidence as a presenter. Intimidation won’t even cross your mind as you look your audience right in the eyes.
