How To Talk To Senior Management
Adrian Choo The Career Strategist
I Help Leaders Achieve Successful Careers ?LinkedIn Top Career Counselling Voice ?Author ? C-Suite Career Mentor ?Radio Host
I confess, the younger Headhunter Adrian used to be terrified of speaking or pitching to Senior Management.
They seemed like Olympian gods perched on high thrones, casting judgement upon all before them. One disapproving look and my spiel evaporated from memory, leaving me speechless.
Until one day, I received a frantic call from a CEO (who once scoffed at my presentation), asking me if I had a job for him as he was about to be fired.
Then I realised something - They're all human too and there's nothing to fear about them.
That's why I wanted to share 3 ideas on how we can better present ourselves to them without feeling intimidated or overly-nervous. Here goes!
1. Come Prepared
In school, one of my greatest fear was looking stupid, ignorant or incompetent in front of others.
Whether you are presenting to senior management
Make sure you know all necessary information at your fingertips. Pre-emptively prepare a list of questions they might ask, and most importantly, find out more about them before the meetings. What are their agendas and 'hot buttons'? Leverage this into your pitch!
I know of a Business Leader who meets regularly with his Executive Board in Germany and unfailinigly commits all the regional sales data from the previous 6 quarters to memory so that he can calmly rattle it off the top of his head when asked by his Chairman. His Exectuive Board gave him the moniker, "Mr Walking Database".
The best way to overcome nervous jitters is to come (over)prepared. You will definitely make an impression.
2. Be Clear
Have you ever sat through a presentation where the speaker was rambling through his 'wall-of-words' powerpoint slides and losing the attention of everyone in the room?
Don't be that guy.
A mentor once told me, "Clarity of speechshows clarity of mind. Speak simply, get the message through."
Recognise that for Senior Leaders, time is an important currency for them and we need to get to the point quickly and clearly.
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It's not enough to be clear in your communications, you also need to be clear in the most important objectives for the conversation/pitch - what are the key points you need to put across or to 'get actioned' on.
Once you focus on what is critical, you will subconsciously become more effective in your interactions with your Leaders.
3. Fear Not!
Yes, presenting to the CEO seems daunting, but trust me, this gets easier with age.
The younger Adrian brimmed with have self-doubt and nervous energy before presenting to the 'Big Wigs', but today, I just take it in my stride.
How?
I've realised that they are all humans after all.
In fact, CEOs have unenviable jobs of keeping every quarter profitable, managing their demanding Boardof Directors, whilst fighting off vivious back-stabbing office politics of the highest degree - which puts their job at risk at any one time.
A CEO was once asked how he slept at night given all his work stresses and replied, "I sleep like a Baby! I wake up every 2 hours and cry my eyes out."
Many CEOs I have coached shared that this was indeed true, and the higher you go, the greater the stress!
So, if you're preparing for a major presentation
If you'd like to learn more, watch our full episode of "Speaking To Senior Management" on our Weekly Linkedin Live Show, Career Success with Adrian & Yen.
Adrian Choo?is a Thought Leader, Author and CEO/Founder of?Career Agility International, a global Career Strategy Consulting firm. A C-suite Mentor, he is a much sought-after speaker and can be heard on radio 91.3FM every Thursday morning where he shares his latest ideas on Careers.?Together with his co-founder,?Yen, he puts a weekly Linkedin Live Show, "Career Success with Adrian and Yen" every Friday morning,
Adrian, together with his team, helps mid-career executives to find CareerClarity? and we can be reached via whatsapp at +65 8838 0557.?
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1 年I agree on number 1 - be prepared and it takes care of everything else. We must be clear on any circumstance what preparation means. Sometimes, bravado is enough when the session is nothing more than a test of courage. But if it's about something more, then we need to know what we must prepare for. I am sure we can clearly remember that our most successful presentation is when we understood what they are really up to - and we served it well.