Talk Tip: What Should I Wear?

Q: I get invited to a lot of internal All Hands meetings to talk about my department. I ask them if there’s anything they’d like me to cover, and they say I can talk about whatever I’d like. I’m all for transparency but can only do my elevator pitch so many times. What else should I talk about?

Presenting is a big commitment, from preparing to delivering to following up with people afterward. With all that goes into it, you want to do more than just “inform.” You want to influence people to think, feel, or do something differently.

So, start with the people in your audience. When you understand who you’re talking to, it’s a lot easier to set reasonable goals. Some questions to help you focus:

Who‘s out there? Build a few audience profiles: give them personalities, professional backgrounds, even names.

What do they want from me?

What do they already know—or think they know—about your department, and based on that, where’s the best place for you to start? What do they expect from you to tell them that’s new and/or different, and most of all useful?

How do I make this make sense to them?

You know your subject very, very well. Do they? Can you use jargon, or will that turn them off? What’s the best way to present your subject so your audience will be open to what you want them to do once they have the information?

What do I want from them?

How can the people in this audience help your department be successful? For example, do you want them to partner better? Or maybe they have veto power that you don’t want them to use? It may help to target or rank your audiences and goals per audience since you can’t be everything to everyone.

One more thing

You can always respectfully decline a speaking invitation. If all the audience really needs is basic information, consider sending a summary slide or brief talking points instead.

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