Speak like Wikipedia

During our last coaching session, my client Abdullah - a high performing IT manager - was clearly anxious about his upcoming presentation to the C-Suite of his organization. This could be his moment to shine if he is adequately prepared.?It brought me back memories from my first big presentation to upper management in my first job. I was more than just anxious, I was genuinely frightened. Luckily, my manager at the time taught me my most valuable lesson of public speaking:

"be brief, be brilliant, and be gone!"

Over the past few months, I enjoyed Abdullah’s ability to summarize his insights into creative metaphors and analogies. This time was no different, he came up with an excellent analogy:

"a presentation needs to be like a Wikipedia page: It should be concise enough to maintain the attention, rich enough to inform the audience, and multilayered to offer further details if needed"

I loved this analogy because it addresses the common mistakes that many subject matter experts tend to make when speaking to senior stakeholders. First, technical experts usually overload their presentation with too many details & technical jargon due to their deep knowledge of the subject matter. Second, they tend to lose their logical flow and structure due to their passion about the topic presented which end up confusing their audience. Finally, many aspiring managers enjoy the glamour of the room and the spot light so they stay longer than required.?

For your next big opportunity to shine in front of your senior executives, think of the Wikipedia analogy and remember: "Be brief, Be brilliant, and Be gone!"