How to make a presentation land with senior leaders
Senior leaders are busy, sceptical, and allergic to waffle. Here is how to structure a presentation they will actually follow.
Know your audience (really)
The most common mistake in presenting to senior leaders is treating them like a general audience. They are not. They are time-poor, context-rich, and expecting you to get to the point quickly.
Before you open PowerPoint, answer three questions: What does this audience care about? What do they need to decide or do? What is the one thing I need them to remember?
If you cannot answer those clearly, you are not ready to build slides. You are ready to think harder.
Structure for clarity, not completeness
Most presentations fail because they try to say too much. The presenter wants to demonstrate thoroughness. The audience wants to understand the point.
Lead with your recommendation or key message. Then provide the evidence. Then address objections. This is the opposite of how most people structure a presentation, which is to build slowly toward a conclusion the audience could have reached in the first two minutes.
Senior leaders respect brevity. They do not respect padding.
Delivery under pressure
Confidence in front of senior leaders comes from preparation, not personality. Know your material cold. Anticipate the hard questions. Practise out loud, not just in your head.
Slow down. Most people speed up under pressure, which makes them harder to follow and less credible. A deliberate pace signals control.
Make eye contact. Pause before answering tough questions. Resist the urge to fill silence with words. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do in a boardroom is stop talking.
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