Giving a presentation to the C-suite? 6 tips executives can use

Posted by jaques montegolifier on April 22nd, 2019

Inviting the C-suite to present your ideas or proposal is a great way to etch a positive impression on the people who have a voice in the organization. If you are pitching your first presentation, you should know the audience well and set yourself up for success with proper strategies. You can learn some techniques through presentation skills coaching.

Before proceeding with the tips on how to provide the best presentation to the C-suite, the following are the roles of the executives:

• They are aware of what should contain in a well-prepared presentation
• They are always on the clock
• Do not assume you are pitching to a team
• Executives focus on costs, returns, and trade-offs
• They love to include data and discuss in-depth about them
• They always hunt for great talent

Executive leadership training imparts the following tips related to presentations:

1)      Construct your message carefully: A simple method to distil the message to your top-brass is by using message mapping. Use the said way: draw a circle on the sheet of paper. This is your core message. Support this core message with supporting points. The mapping should work in both directions. Plus, they should not be beyond 2-3 lines. It may be difficult to do so but you must. The more you invest your time in your message the better dividends you will receive during the live presentation.

2)      Focus on opportunity development: Ensure the value proposition is right. Your topic should focus on how to retain customers and reduce costs.

3)      Sugar coating risks in presentations: Do not eliminate the risks. Have a well-listed risk and a risk-strategy in place. This shows that you are thinking about every aspect of the company.

4)      Prepare meaningful, simple visuals: Do not opt for animation magic. If needed, include several people, with the C-suite, to review them. You will know about the quality, clarity, and completeness. Make sure the images have proper spacing between texts and numbers.

5)      Bring it on:Presentation skills coaching build confidence, offers clarity, and completeness of thought. It is what the top-brass expect from the executive presentations. Your message and body language should support what you explain. You should be confident about your ideas or proposals.

6)      Proper time allotment: C-suites do not have entire time in the world for your presentation. They offer you a set limit, and you have to plan the presentation for only half of it.

You only one time to leave a lasting impression. Be it executive leadership training or presentation coaching; it is fine to give it your all and work extra hard to receive the desired results.