Executive Presentations Differ From General Presentations
One of the most frequent requests from my clients is help with executive presentations to senior or executive leadership within their organizations. Crafting and delivering executive presentations are different than speaking to a general audience in that executives have different needs and expectations. Certainly, as in presentations to general audiences, clarity around your speech objective is critical for a successful speech or presentation. For success with executives, however, it is important to understand that their needs and wants are different than a general audiences’. An executive audience’s primary objective is to make a decision based on what you present. Knowing how to structure and deliver your executive presentations to meet their needs will enable you to be more successful.
While each organization may have its own specific protocols with regards to executive presentations, here are general guidelines on how executive presentations differ from presentations to a more general audience:
|
General Audience |
Executive Audience |
| Time constraints may be loosely
defined. |
Time is strictly controlled and
oftentimes cut short. |
| Open the presentation with a hook to
engage your audience. |
Best practice is to start with your
conclusion; be concise. |
| Stories are highly valued; too much
data not effective. |
Data is highly valued; stories not highly
valued. |
| Content can be entertaining. | Content needs to be related to
organization’s financial success. |
| Q & A usually occurs ¾ or at the end of
the presentation. |
Q & A can occur at any time during the
presentation and is often the most important part of the presentation. |
| Audience has no power over you. | Audience has power over the
presenters. |
| Rehearsals for presentation is up to the
presenters. |
Presenters often go through reviews of
content and delivery. |
The opportunity to present to an executive team can be highly rewarding, if done correctly. They expect you to be concise, support your “ask” with data, articulate your execution with clear action steps, and be prepared for at least 2/3 of your time with them to be in discussion mode. Remember that they are there to make a decision. The easier you make it for them to make the decision, the more likely the outcome will be the win-win for all.