I confess, the younger Headhunter Adrian used to be terrified of speaking or pitching to Senior Management.
They seemed like Olympian gods perched on high thrones, casting judgement upon all before them. One disapproving look and my spiel evaporated from memory, leaving me speechless.
Until one day, I received a frantic call from a CEO (who once scoffed at my presentation), asking me if I had a job for him as he was about to be fired.
Then I realised something – They’re all human too and there’s nothing to fear about them.
That’s why I wanted to share 3 ideas on how we can better present ourselves to them without feeling intimidated or overly-nervous. Here goes!
1. Come Prepared
In school, one of my greatest fear was looking stupid, ignorant or incompetent in front of others.
Whether you are presenting to senior management on a project update, a request for more resources, or a proposal for a new strategy, it never hurts to be overprepared.
Make sure you know all necessary information at your fingertips. Pre-emptively prepare a list of questions they might ask, and most importantly, find out more about them before the meetings. What are their agendas and ‘hot buttons’? Leverage this into your pitch!
I know of a Business Leader who meets regularly with his Executive Board in Germany and unfailinigly commits all the regional sales data from the previous 6 quarters to memory so that he can calmly rattle it off the top of his head when asked by his Chairman. His Exectuive Board gave him the moniker, “Mr Walking Database”.
The best way to overcome nervous jitters is to come (over)prepared. You will definitely make an impression.
2. Be Clear
Have you ever sat through a presentation where the speaker was rambling through his ‘wall-of-words’ powerpoint slides and losing the attention of everyone in the room?
Don’t be that guy.
A mentor once told me, “Clarity of speech shows clarity of mind. Speak simply, get the message through.”
Recognise that for Senior Leaders, time is an important currency for them and we need to get to the point quickly and clearly.
It’s not enough to be clear in your communications, you also need to be clear in the most important objectives for the conversation/pitch – what are the key points you need to put across or to ‘get actioned’ on.
Once you focus on what is critical, you will subconsciously become more effective in your interactions with your Leaders.
3. Fear Not!
Yes, presenting to the CEO seems daunting, but trust me, this gets easier with age.
The younger Adrian brimmed with have self-doubt and nervous energy before presenting to the ‘Big Wigs’, but today, I just take it in my stride.
How?
I’ve realised that they are all humans after all.
In fact, CEOs have unenviable jobs of keeping every quarter profitable, managing their demanding Board of Directors, whilst fighting off vivious back-stabbing office politics of the highest degree – which puts their job at risk at any one time.
A CEO was once asked how he slept at night given all his work stresses and replied, “I sleep like a Baby! I wake up every 2 hours and cry my eyes out.”
Many CEOs I have coached shared that this was indeed true, and the higher you go, the greater the stress!
So, if you’re preparing for a major presentation for your Leadership Team at the moment, take a step back and breathe. Be prepared, Be Clear, and just put your best foot forward.