Following on from last week’s post about My simple process on how not to get interrupted when presenting to senior executives, here are five tips to prepare for your next Leadership Team meeting or Board presentation.

1. Think of developing a relationship with the senior executives – not as delivering a presentation to them.

2. You will be judged. Acknowledge that and step up, to meet that challenge.

3. Tell what you want, limit how you got there. This means, at the start of your presentation, avoid going into the background of your topic, and tell the participants, what you want from them, clearly and simply.

4. Practice speaking as much as you can outside your domain area. When there is a topic outside your area, speak up.

For example, you might interject this way. ‘Let me jump in and share my view’

5. Personality; bring some of yours into the room.

Own the Conversation

Here’s what to do …

1. Choose one of the above tips to reflect on/act on.
2. Make a goal to use the tip in a specific meeting this week or next week. (eg. In next week’s WIPS meeting I will make a definite acknowledgement to myself, that people are judging me but still share my views with energy, certainty and simplicity).

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p.s. This quote shared by Sterling K. Brown in his Stanford University commencement speech might interest *

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving” Lao Tzu

*(By the way if you watch the speech, note the captivating energy Brown projects through his voice, face, body language and feeling tone).