How to Present to Senior Management Without Being Terrified

Frippicism: The key to career success is to learn to sell yourself and your ideas to your senior management.

It’s no secret. The higher up the corporate ladder you go, the more important your public speaking skills become.?

If you have your sights set on increased responsibility with the position and the salary that goes with it, you will need to position yourself ahead of the crowd. At all stages of your career, it’s vital to sell yourself, your ideas, your value, and your ability. To position yourself for promotion, you need to learn what it takes to sell yourself and your ideas to senior management. That requires high-level public speaking skills. Learn from these presentation tips and techniques.

Perhaps you’re already speaking up in team meetings and getting your ideas across effectively. If so, how do you feel about facing a room full or even just five of senior management around a boardroom table, all staring at you? The same feelings apply to virtual meetings.

Seven Fripp Dos

1. Open with your recommendation. Don’t make your senior-level audience wait to find out the purpose of your presentation.
2. Describe the benefits of adopting your recommendation. Make these benefits seem vivid and obtainable.
3. Describe the costs, and frame them in a positive manner. If possible, show how not following your recommendations will cost even more.
4. List your specific recommendations, and keep them on target. Wandering generalities will lose their interest. You must focus on the bottom line. Report on the deals, not the details. Naturally, any questions they ask you will have the specifics they need.
5. Deliver with piece-of-the-pie eye contact. You will be more persuasive and believable. It is fine to have notes. In person or virtually, however, you cannot make good eye contact if you are reading your notes rather than just referring to them.
6. Be brief. The fewer words you use to get your message across, the better. Jerry Seinfeld says, “I will invest an hour taking an eight-word sentence down to five.” That’s because he knows it would be funnier. In your case, shorter is more memorable and repeatable. You will always receive appreciation for being clear, concise, and finishing ahead of time.
7. Practice. A report to senior managers is not a conversation; it must, however, sound conversational. Once you have your notes, practice with an associate or your team members. Especially if you are reporting on a team project. Rehearse by yourself when you are driving to work, taking a walk, or, at my favorite place to rehearse, on the treadmill. Make sure you are familiar with what you intend to say. You do not have to be perfect. Your goal is to be personable. Remember, they do not know what you intended to say, so if your remarks do not come out exactly as you rehearsed, do not worry.

Remember, as Oscar-winner Sir Michael Caine said, “Rehearsal is the work; performance is the relaxation.”

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