Presenting to Senior Executives: Everything to you need to know

You might be good at giving presentations to a regular audience but fall short when it to presenting to senior executives. Understanding how to present to this group is vital.

Several reasons can necessitate a presentation before a board of senior executives; marketing strategy presentation, annual report, project pitch, marketing budget proposal, new product proposal, pitching an idea, etc.

Whichever of these it is, you need to put up a good performance if you hope to be able to convince them and win them over on your proposal or idea.

Senior executives can sometimes be a tough audience to please, and this is because most of them have rich experience, they understand the consequences of making a bad decision, and they’ve sat through countless presentations, and so they know what is important and what is not. However, they are pleased when a presentation if effectively laid out and provide the desired solutions.

In this article, you will learn everything that ought to go into your presentation for senior executives.

Remember to keep it short, simple and straightforward

Whether you like it or not, people do not like unnecessarily long talks when it comes to business. Effectiveness and functionality will always trump eloquence. When you keep this in mind, you are more likely to design your presentation outline with purpose.

By keeping your presentation short, you only present the important points. Many senior executives are very busy and have tight schedules. So, if you don’t want them to cut you short, keep it simple.

Remember that to win the approval of senior executives; you need to offer them some value.

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Open with a strong point

When you are presenting to senior executives, make sure you open with a strong point. You have a good chance of grabbing their attention when you open with a strong point. For example, you can open with striking statistics, or you can ask a question that gets them to think. But always provide verifiable data to support your claim.

According to presentation ninja, Starting strong with executives means giving them confidence that you’re going to use their time wisely.

Opening with a very strong point like this is sure to spark interest and inspire confidence in your presentation. It is important to note that starting with a strong point should not be the end of your presentation. If you start with a strong point, you should endeavor to follow through with equally strong points. This way, you start strong and maintain that tempo for the duration of the presentation.

Be ultra-flexible

When presenting to senior executives, you should remember that it is their responsibility to make serious decisions that would affect the growth of the company one way or another. As a result, they may need to test all aspects of your confidence in what you are saying and may sometimes try to ruffle you while presenting. They can ask sudden questions in between slides.

You must be very flexible and also make sure you know your subject. In some cases, they may make you fast forward your presentation or go back to a previous slide to confirm a point. If you don’t have a good knowledge of the subject and ultra-flexible, you will likely stutter or lose track of what you are saying.

Have your data ready

Don’t present to a board of senior executives if you don’t have data. Learn everything you can about the subject you are presenting on and have all the relevant data to back up your claims. This way, when you make a point or make a case, there is evidence to support it.

Use your time effectively

You probably have a few minutes to make your case and win the support of the senior executives, and for you to make the most of it, you have to be well-prepared. Also, make sure you have a shorter version of your presentation that has all the relevant information. You can switch to this backup in case they try to rush you. This way, no matter what happens, you will present the most important points.

These are some of the points to note when presenting to senior executives.

I hope this article helped? If it did, share with a friend who might need it and read more like it on this blog.

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