5 Tips for Presenting To C-Level Executives

When it comes to presenting your ideas to executives, we know this for sure: more information is not necessarily better. Unfortunately, most of us have learned this the hard way.But regardless of whether it’s your first time or 500th time presenting to senior leaders, anyone can naturally “own the room,” navigate difficult questions, and influence decision-making when meeting with busy, get-to-the-point executives. And the best part? It doesn’t involve practicing power poses or adopting a certain swagger.

If you’ve struggled to get distracted, hyper-impatient executives to focus on your key messages, try these five simple tricks to get heard – and noticed.

1. Include an executive summary

An executive summary – a single snapshot of your whole presentation – offers your audience control. Executives love control and knowing how they are about to spend their next 5, 15, or 60 minutes. Get to the point quickly. Get to the point visually. Cut extensive background information. If your boss doesn’t get the gist of what you’re proposing in 60 seconds, you’re probably doomed.

*Remember: Executives want to get in, make a decision, and get out.

2. Have a BIG Idea

Always include a BIG idea in the executive summary. The BIG Idea should be the most important, high-level idea you’re presenting and serve as an inspiring, insightful, actionable preview of what’s to come. Carefully consider what the presentation is about and the one key takeaway you want your audience to know or do when they leave. This simple exercise will help you discover and ultimately articulate your big idea.

You should be able to capture your BIG Idea in one concise, conversational statement that is made up of two parts: the “what” of your story (what you want your audience to know or do) and one to three high-level benefits.

Here is an example of a big idea: A new performance tracking dashboard will improve business results. In this case, “a new performance tracking dashboard” is what you want your audience to know, and “improve business results” is the benefit.

*Remember: Your BIG idea is the through-line for your presentation, connecting every other (supporting) fact or piece of data. You should reinforce it continually throughout your presentation verbally, visually, or both.

3. Prepare for a dialogue, not a monologue

Executives want a summarized overview…until they don’t. They love to control the flow of information, consuming it in their own order and at their own pace. It’s a good rule of thumb to not only expect to be interrupted throughout a discussion or presentation but to actually invite interruption. Building in moments to check in with your audience will ensure you have an open dialogue and allow you to zig and zag based on audience needs – especially if your meeting is virtual.

Because the truth is, online meetings tank for two primary main reasons: your audience is bored, or you’re not responding to their needs sufficiently. The best way to prevent both? Keep people interacting with you and with each other using a solid story as your foundation. It helps you build in planned interactivity to engage your audience and get critical feedback during the session.

*Remember: To satisfy impatient execs, it’s critical to be able to rearrange the order of your ideas. Don’t forget to include a call to action.

4. Speak in headlines, not headings

Executives are begging to have information distilled for them. Yet we are always bombarding them with (what we call “headings”) that tell almost nothing.

Headlines, on the other hand, are much more useful because the real “news” in the chart is right there on top. No squinting or decoding required! For example, instead of “Project update,” you could say, “Project X is on target but needs additional development resources.” This helps you position the conversation exactly where you want it. It also diminishes the number of immediate questions executives have. If they do want to drill down, their questions will likely be much more focused and relevant.

*Remember: The more an executive has to work to decipher information, the less impact your ideas will have. Headlines immediately draw attention to your key point.

5. Prepare for executives with different needs

Sometimes we present to the VP of Sales. Sometimes we present to the Director of Marketing. Sometimes we present to both at the same time. When we aren’t prepared to address different constituencies, each with diverse needs… we run into trouble.

Our advice? Be agile and read the room (yes, even if it’s a virtual room.) If you don’t want to face a restless audience, anticipate their questions and be prepared to pivot (quickly) with multiple supporting arguments. Think of the controls to your deck like a joystick. Practice going back, forward, drilling down, turning around… all on the fly. They want to discuss that graph back on slide 2? Be ready. They want to pour over one table the entire time? Be ready. They’re asking for more extensive analysis? Be ready.

*Remember: Your BIG idea might be the same, but you must pull out multiple benefits to attract every constituency in attendance.

Think of yourself as a concierge of your ideas

The fastest way to lose your chance of selling your ideas to executives is to frustrate them with meandering, over-detailed presentations. It makes their job as decision-makers even harder. To give your ideas (and all the people who helped you work on them) the chance they deserve, keep in mind your audience’s mindset, articulate a big idea and stay flexible throughout your presentation. These tips will give you the best chance to drive your strategies, recommendations and, ultimately, your career.

Want more tips for presenting to C-level executives? Check out our storytelling workshop options for corporate teams and individuals.