Question: What's the relationship between sky diving and making executive presentations?
Answer: Apart from the metaphorical comparisons of being at high altitudes, both activities routinely strike fear into the hearts of the people daring to attempt them.
Soaring through your presentations in the C-Suite is certainly possible, but not without focus on some key strategies. This series of tips will help you avoid any nose dives.
TIP #3: EXPECT AND BE HAPPY ABOUT INTERRUPTIONS
When you get interrupted during your presetation it means either you’ve sparked an idea that the audience wants to talk about OR you’ve confused them and they are seeking clarification. Strive for the former.
Be attentive to your audience so you can determine what is important to them to pursue. It is far better to allow the audience to interrupt you and dialogue around something in your presentation that interests them than to stick rigidly to your script. If you have sparked a lively discussion it means that your audience is engaged.
The key to comfortably managing interruptions is to know your material backward and forward so you can determine when a spontaneous discussion is productive, when it isn’t and how to get back on track.
You can corral a chatty audience by saying things like, “This has been a great discussion. I want to now cover the final two benefits of this proposal so that you will have all the information you need to make a decision.” Or, “We’ve generated some great ideas here. I’d like to use that last point as a springboard to tell you about the next phase of the implementation.”
Use transitional statements such as these to bridge between what’s been discussed and the next point in your presentation.
C-Level Presentation Tip #2: Link to Business Issues
C Level Presentation Tip #1: Start with Conclusions
Photo Credit:
Flickr/Sky Diving with Clara C.C. 2.0
