Talk Tip: Calls to Action
Q: Do I always need a “Call to Action”? It’s a big thing at my new company. A lot of the time I’m just informing our leadership team about progress so it feels forced.
A Call to Action is a flag at the end of your presentation where you explicitly ask your audience to do something. It’s a speech transition used to focus your audience on what you’ll say next.
Here’s the thing about executives: they don’t think you’re just informing them. They typically expect to come to one of two conclusions: (1) “I feel good about this. Everything is on track,” or (2) “They need my help because something is off, and I expect them to offer me solutions.” Your presentation should influence them one way or the other.
A Call to Action embedded in a company’s culture signals that the company expects a bias for action. Try thinking of it more broadly: when you end your presentation, you’re expected to show your audience how to constructively apply what they just learned from you. You’re to clearly state what they can actually do with this information.
To get more comfortable with the company’s Call to Action expectation, try these four tips:
Know your goals
Be clear with yourself about what you want your executives to think, feel, or do when you’re done talking — and while you’re talking, since execs ask so many questions along the way! It helps to think through the vested interests of each executive, or coalitions of executives, so you can foresee their questions and reactions, stay on track, and achieve your goals.
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Start early
To make your Call to Action sing, flag your proof points as you go. Say things like, “I’ll come back to this in my Call to Action” or “This is important, as we’ll see later.”
Be persuasive
Executives rely on your expertise to help them understand. Infuse your knowledge and experience into your talk track. For example, “We’ve seen this situation before, which is why we focused on these areas…” or “We know this is critical. We’re looking into it and I’ll have our analysis for you by Thursday.”
Say it your way
Maybe the words “Call to Action” just don’t fit well in your mouth. Come up with your own way to say it. You might try, “With all that said, here’s what I want you to take from this,.. “ or “To sum up, it’s clear that we need to prioritize three things. First…”
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