Unlocking the True Potential of All-Hands Meetings: Part 1: The Power of Thought Leadership

Last week, I read a report from Vimeo that ranked the Q&A portion of a town hall as 'the single most valuable element'. If there was ever a statistic that highlighted that presentations at company-wide presentations are missing the mark, this is it.

I died a little inside. Not least because I often joke about how no one walks out of a meeting going 'that Q&A was amazing!'

It turns out they do.

Based on this data, why not sack off the presentation element of these events altogether and use the time to run a series of Ask Me Anythings with the senior leadership team instead?

Because as valuable as these Q and A sessions may be, relying on them alone will create a directionless and confused team that lacks clarity. Not ideal, if we agree that at the very least, a company-wide meeting's goal needs to create alignment; a shared vision that everyone can get behind.

Presentations are a catalyst for change. Done right, they provide a richness of insight and inspiration that is simply impossible to achieve with a Q and A.

So where's it all going wrong?

Well, I've been working behind the scenes with presenting teams at company-wide meetings for a number of years now. When I ran my first All-Hands Accelerator, I thought my job would be to help the presenters overcome their nerves and communicate with confidence. And whilst there was a bit of that, many of the leaders were already competent presenters - no doubt one of the reasons why they held the positions they were in.

The biggest problem was the style of the presentations that were being delivered. Instead of delivering visionary talks designed to invigorate and motivate, they were delivering company updates:

'These were last quarter's goals/OKRs...

This is how we did...

This is what we learned...

These are next quarter's goals/OKRs...'

Now imagine that 15-minute presentation delivered by every department and you have yourself an event that is more 'school assembly show and tell' than energising event. I'm not saying transparency and public accountability aren't important, but the detail in each of these presentations could have been distilled down to a 1-pager PDF. Why not collate and distribute prior to the event so that the time on stage can be used to deliver keynotes that create unanimous buy-in for the period ahead?

Get this right and company-wide events will become calendar fixtures that the team wants to attend rather than simply feels they have to. But in order for that to happen, the presenting team needs to approach their keynotes with the mindset of a thought leader, not the kind of mindset that comes with their job title.

What is thought leadership?

In the context of company-wide meetings, thought leadership is about sharing ideas and insights that contribute to the company's mission, vision, and values. It's about providing education to the entire team, regardless of their role or department, and helping them understand the broader context of the company's goals and challenges.

The result?

Everyone leaves feeling smarter, energised and aligned, just like they would do had they attended a TED event.

This works because thought leadership presentations prioritize education, inclusivity and engagement in a way that conventional business presentations don't. They do this by following three simple principles:

1. Set out to educate and you will inspire

One of the questions I ask the participants at the very beginning of the All-Hands Accelerator is...

What word would you like your audience to use to describe your next All-Hands presentation?

More often than not, the most common answer I get back (especially from the CEOs) is 'inspiring'.

Now, we’ve all watched talks before that have inspired us. And you don't need to have a story about overcoming some sort of extreme adversity to deliver something inspirational.

A few years back, I was invited to TED HQ in NYC and I was chatting to one of the curators whose job it is to sift through all the applications and choose who is going to speak on that famous red spot. They said to me that if they see the words inspiration or motivation written anywhere on the application form they stop reading it.

This is interesting given we would all use the word inspiring to describe our favourite talks. So what's going on here?

We feel inspired because the speaker has taught us something new. Whether it's through

1. Sharing new information that opens our minds to a whole new world of potential, or by
2. Giving us a new way to think about the work we are doing.

Not only does this inspire hope, but it's also invigorating and uplifting.

This is why educating your audience needs to be the baseline level of success for any company-wide presentation.

2. Demonstrate 'inclusive expertise' to create relevance

A TED speaker's superpower is the ability to make their subject matter accessible to everyone, not just those who are already knowledgeable in the field. They can distil complex ideas and information into simple, relatable, and compelling narratives that can resonate with a broad audience.

There's a reason why performance reports scored lowest in Vimeo's study... audience members have got their own targets and OKRs to worry about. This means that when the CMO steps up to deliver their OKRs for the quarter, the only people who are truly engaged are the marketing team. Everyone else is either half-listening (at best) or asking themselves:

'So what?! How does this impact me? Why are you telling me this? ??'

Thought leaders demonstrate inclusive expertise in two ways.

1. By making the answers to these questions clear early on.
2. By learning what not to share.

Most presentations would be twice as effective if they were half the length. I once helped a leader cut their All-Hands presentation from 23 minutes to 12 - it got them promoted (their words not mine).

Only share insights that a) are relevant to everyone in the room, and b) will benefit the audience. The detail can be saved for those who know what to do with it - their team.

The impact of inclusive expertise in your keynotes extends beyond the immediate meeting. By communicating your work in a way that is relevant to everyone, you can foster a deeper understanding and appreciation for what you do, resulting in increased collaboration and teamwork. Furthermore, you'll be reminding your own team of just how important and valuable their work is. They'll leave the meeting feeling appreciated along with a renewed sense of pride and motivation to continue making an impact.

3. Maximise engagement by harnessing curiosity

There is a fundamental difference between a presenter that talks at you and one that talks to you. The first involves the lectur... I mean, presenters going through the motions and telling them what they need to tell them, while the other communicates their ideas in a way that puts the audience at the heart of a story. It's the difference between...

'Today, I'm going to share the plan we have created that's designed to incentivise our customers to stay.'

vs

'We have spent this quarter working out the answer to a very important question... How can we incentivise our customer to stay?'

The first one makes you want to check your emails, while the second one makes you want to lean in and learn more. It peaks our curiosity.

Therein lies the secret to engaging presentations... The second your audience thinks they can predict where the presentation is heading, they'll stop paying attention. The goal is to get your audience wondering

What's going to happen next?

And it is a skill that can be learned regardless of any preconceptions you may have about how interesting your subject matter is. So if you're someone who normally finds themselves starting your presentation by apologising for your topic, this is a muscle you need to learn how to build.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that these three principles have something in common... they put the audience first.

And in part 2, understanding the mindset of the audience is exactly what we're going to cover.

Whenever you're ready, here are some ways I can help:

1. Want to find out more about how I can help your presenting team? Enquire about my All-Hands Accelerator by?booking a call here .

2. Looking to get better at presenting what you do at work? Grab a copy of my book,?Make It Count: How to Deliver High-Stakes Presentations to People You Need to Impress at Work .

3. Looking for a practical way to take your thought leadership and presentation skills to the next level? Join?MicDrop , my community of thought leaders that speak.