Archive for the 'treasure your audience' Category

Lessons when communicating to senior managers: Don’t assume

Published on in rapport and treasure your audience. Closed Tags: , , , , .

One of the most important steps in preparing for any type of communication is understanding the motivations and burning issues for your audience. We call this “Treasure your Audience” and it’s step 2 in the 8 step journey of  The One Minute Presenter.

Two words that should be burned into your memory when it comes to communication is “don’t assume”.

Don’t assume that the audience has the same motivations this week as last week. Regular meetings can get into a rut – most people don’t bother to prepare in advance for them –  and if you don’t check what is top-of-mind for your senior manager this week, you may be missing opportunities to align your message with his interests. Or you may annoy or irritate him by focusing on the wrong topics. Ask checking questions before your presentation.

Samples:

“I am planning to cover A, B and C. Which area would you like me to cover in most depth?”

“Has anything changed from the last time we spoke? Would you like me to focus on any particular area first?”

Don’t assume that you know the motivation behind a question. Have the confidence to check-back and narrow the focus of a question.This will prevent you from answering the wrong question (from your manager’s perspective) and help you to only answer the question with the appropriate level of detail.  Don’t attempt to download everything you know on the topic of the question. Give shorter answers and allow your manager to make a follow up question.

Samples:

“Thank you for your question. Could I just clarify whether you would like me to go into A or B in more depth?”

“That could be covered from different perspectives. Which perspective would you like me to address first? X or Y”

Don’t assume that every audience can be handled in the same way. In many regards, every time you speak is an unique occasion. Even if you are speaking to the same audience at regular periodic meetings, they are in a different state of mind. They have different things on their mind, different current pressures and different immediate motivations.

Samples:

“We covered this issue in great detail last time, what extra insight would we like to cover this time?”

“What is your most burnign question at this moment in time.”


Always keep these two words close at hand when you are presenting and communicating. Assumptions are the root of most misunderstandings. The most confident communicators can push-back and check what exactly their manager or audience would like to get from the presentation.


Lessons when communicating to senior managers: A checklist

Published on in rapport, Resources and treasure your audience. Closed Tags: , , , .

I recently held a talk with professionals in Shanghai around how to communicate up in an organisation. Here are some of the learning points.

  • Don’t assume

  • Get to the point

  • Find common ground

  • Meeting before the meeting

  • Push-back with questions

  • Make the understanding explicit [let them know you understand what they want]

  • Use connecting questions

  • Break up presentations with intelligent interruptions (every 5 mins)

  • Journalist pyramid

  • Stay on track; be positive, bridge back [always have an agenda and an independent meeting facilitator]

  • Speak to outcomes [not process]

  • Hold accountability; who does what by when

  • Give your opinion; P-S-A

  • Problem- Solutions- Action / Recommendation

What else would you add?

Hotels: How are you engaging with your ‘digital’ guests?

Published on in Create Your Connection, digital natives and treasure your audience. Closed Tags: , , , .
Young beautiful happy smiling woman using a la...

All communication involves two parties. Today, hotels are having to adapt with increasingly web savvy guests who review sites like Tripadvisor.com before they book. Customer reviews are an important part of these sites. Are you listening to your guests? And how are you engaging with them?

All successful presenters have highly honed listening skills which they use to adapt and tailor their message for the audience that they wish to reach. For example, a salesperson hears an off-hand comment from a potential corporate client in the small talk before a meeting about how they were disappointed with another property’s responsiveness to minor changes in the build up to an important event. The salesperson – when talking about their service – could use this as an anecdote. For example, highlighting that they offer their corporate clients a dedicated hotel representative who promises same day response to all changes or questions in the weeks leading up to an event. This brings out the disappointment which the client had previously and solves it with a clear promise and commitment. The sales person could then go further and introduce their service team to the client, again emphasising their service promise.

The more frequently a presenter can match their strengths to specific questions or problems that the client wishes to solve, the more likely they are to engage and keep the audience’s attention throughout the presentation. Importantly in a sales pitch this will increase the chance of a sale.

Similarly, in the online world, it is important for hotels to engage with their guest’s feedback – both good and bad. A potential guest is more likely to forgive a poor review if the hotel comes back with a reasonable explanation about how they have improved or solved that problem – while avoiding the trap of making excuses or blaming some policy or procedure or third party.

How are you engaging with your online guests? To read an excllent article, click here to read Daniel Craig’s interview with Jean-Luc Chrétien, Executive VP Marketing & Distribution, Accor.

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

“I work with high-potential senior executives who need to be more confident and influential with their key stakeholders. I help the executive quickly and powerfully express their opinions into message based presentations – even when under pressure.”  Learn more about who I help here.

Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”.

Now available on Amazon.com.

Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com

Four tips for technical experts who need to present to senior management audiences

Published on in Deliver with Style, executive presence, produce your message, Resources and treasure your audience. Closed Tags: , , , .

I recently conducted a survey on how technical experts – like finance executives – can better present themselves to senior management. Here are some of the insights from the survey, the common problems faced by presenters and some solutions on making sure your next presentation to senior executives is received in a positive light.

Common problems faced by technical presenters

Technical presenters have a strong tendency to focus on the ‘how’ of the content rather than the outcome. Technical presenters tend to either over explain the technical aspects of their presentation, even though they are facing a savvy audience who have a good grasp of the technicalities. Or they get too bogged down in the numbers and miss the overarching purpose of the presentation, meeting or conference call which is often to help the senior executive to make a decision.

I would like to share four tips that you can apply to improve your presentation skills when communicating up to a senior executive audience.

Tip 1 : Understand your audience’s motivations so you know why are in this meeting

In The One Minute Presenter, a key step is Treasure your Audience. The main purpose of understanding your audience in detail is to go deeper into their motivations and hot buttons. This understanding helps the technical presenter prepare for meetings. Ask key questions like, “Why is the senior executive joining this meeting?” Is it to gain a brief overview on a topic, an update, a summary or to receive your input on a critical time-sensitive business issue which needs a decision?

Tip 2: Technical literacy quick check

When thinking about your content and how deep to go into the technicalities, think about the literacy of the senior executive on this issue. Are they familiar in depth with the issue? If they are, don’t start from the beginning when introducing the topic. Is the senior manager highly literate but not as familiar with the local differences on which you are an expert? Then skip explaining broad concepts and get into the specifics. Don’t worry if you skip too far ahead, the senior executive will ask you a question.

Tip 3: Think through your presentation’s timing
When you are preparing your content or your slide presentation, ask yourself how much time you have to deliver. If you have twenty minutes and twenty slides of packed data charts, are you allowing yourself enough time for the audience to digest them? Is there a better way to extract your message from each slide and highlight it in a clear slide? Consider using handouts when you need to pass on a record of the data to your audience. Build in some time for questions into your presentation time in case you are asked a series of questions or time is cut from your delivery time. If you have twenty minutes to present, then arrange fifteen minutes of content.

Tip 4: Produce your message for every presentation

Even if you are delivering a frequent update for a weekly management meeting, think about what your message in a nutshell is for every meeting. Press yourself to find a link between your message and the motivations and interests of the senior executives. The more relevant you can make your message to their driving issues, the more likely you are get their attention and receive positive comments. You have to speak to the issues that are important to senior management. They often look at the same topics in a different light. They are more likely to take a broader look or apply a wider scope to the topic. Remember that they are likely to have shifting priorities based on the current state of the business. Are you able to link your topics to the major issues like total revenue, profit margins, share price, market share, and others. Can you fit your topic into those issues?

Conclusion

While you are a technical expert and are valued for the insights you bring, when facing senior management you may need to adjust your content and dig out a message that is in line with the senior executives current reality.

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

“I work with high-potential senior finance executives who need to be more confident and influential with their key stakeholders. I help the executive quickly and powerfully express their opinions into message based presentations – even when under pressure.”  Learn more about who I help here.

Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”.

Now available on Amazon.com.

Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com

CFOs: Do you find it challenging to express yourself clearly and concisely when your boss asks you a question?

Published on in Create Your Connection, executive presence and treasure your audience. Closed Tags: , .

You can quickly and powerfully learn how to express your opinions to important stakeholders –  even when under pressure.

Effective communication holds back most senior finance executives
If you are like most of our clients the skills that have made you successful in finance are often holding you back from being successful as an effective communicator. You feel nervous when you have to present to a group of senior managers. You have been told – or you have a feeling that – you often talk too much without getting to the point. You have been told that your future career prospects depend on improving your communication skills. You are good at preparing detailed slides but are not sure how to summarise the key message behind the numbers.

It doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need to be stuck here forever

Many CFOs have transformed into excellent communicators
Imagine how impressed the faces of your colleagues look when they see you presenting with new found confidence and purpose. Hearing words of thanks and praise as your boss commends you for doing a great job in an important meeting. Imagine that you are able to craft and deliver an engaging presentation to senior management without spending weeks of preparation time. The satisfaction you feel when you are able to influence important decisions that affect the future of the company. The freedom in being able to concisely and powerfully communicate your thoughts to your boss. How confident you feel as you handle questions with direct, clear and relevant replies.

You are not alone.

You can learn how to switch from technical expert to effective executive
If any of the above sounds familiar, don’t worry, you are not alone. In fact, you are in good company. Most senior finance people have similar issues. Being technical experts means that you are focused on process, procedure, the integrity of data, and especially pay attention to very small details. All of which is essential – and desirable – in finance executives. However, when you reach a certain level in the organisation, these technical skills become less important as the core task of an executive is to make decisions and communicate them throughout the organisation. All highly effective executives are superb communicators and presenters and they set the benchmark for others to follow. Today, when decisions are made on who to hire as a CFO, CEO or other key role -the ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders is one of the top two or three competencies.

With the right support you can become a confident presenter
However, as a finance expert, you can’t be expected to automatically know what it takes to be an engaging and confident presenter – you are not an executive speech coach – and with the demands on finance executives already very much more than they were a few years ago, your time is squeezed so that executive communication skills has probably been relegated to only a couple days of training if at all. The good news is that help is here.

Top 5 pieces of advice from The One Minute Presenter
To take a step away from being a technical expert and learning the craft of an effective executive communicator, here are five things you need to do:

1. Learn to adjust to the audience
Many technical experts over focus on the data and numbers in their presentations. While the data is important or essential, you also need to consider the technical expertise of the audience and their expectations for the presentation. Learn how to adjust your content to match each audience.

2. Tell the story behind the numbers
If you are giving the same presentation without change time and time again, chances are you are being too content focused. Learn how to tell the story behind the numbers – especially for less technically adept audiences. Once you have the story which includes the key message and supporting messages, you will have greater flexibility with your content. Tailoring or adapting to different audiences will become easier and will not take a tremendous amount of time.

3. Tagline your key messages
Learn techniques from the advertising, movie and consumer industries by distilling your core messages into easily digestible phrases or taglines. These short phrases should be easy for you to remember and should flow off the tongue easily, so spend some time editing them until you are happy that they are easy to deliver. Taglines are both easy for the presenter and the audience to remember. By inserting taglines throughout the presentation, you will help clarify the core messages for the audience. You can also use collateral – like slidedecks and handout or posters to reinforce these messages. Once the audience remembers your tagline, they will remember your message.

4. Connect with your audience
Audiences today have shorter and shorter attention spans. In business, Blackberrys are ubiquitous and their stream of emails demands attention. If an audience gives you ten minutes of their undivided attention you are lucky. Instead, think of ways to engage with the audience so that they are glued to your performance. Simple techniques range from telling stories that illustrate the points you are making. Everyone loves listening to a good story, even in the business world. Consider using a range of relevant visuals from pictures and videos that help the audience to internalise the message. Other connecting techniques include asking rhetorical questions and using facilitation techniques to encourage audience participation.

5. Look them in the eye and project
While there are numerous presentation delivery techniques you can employ, two stand out. Firstly, eye contact is essential to engage with an audience. The more an individual in the audience feels you make direct eye contact with them, the longer they are likely to concentrate on you and your presentation. Complete a sentence or thought while looking at an individual before moving on so that your eye contact is smooth and natural. Secondly, your voice is your biggest tool to project decisiveness and confidence to your audience. Your voice should be loud enough for all the audience to hear you clearly and like a good story-teller you should vary your pitch, rate and intonation which makes your content more interesting to listen to and – through emphasis -helps your audience to understand where the key points are.

Many CFOs have benefited from The One Minute Presenter coaching
I work with many CFOs from multinationals around Greater China. Just recently, after helping one CFO to understand their communication style and specifically how to answer questions in a one-on-one meeting with his boss, he told me that he had cut the meeting time with his boss in half. And both of them were enjoying the meetings a lot more than the previous ones which dragged on frustratingly for both parties. Importantly, the CFO was also able to carry these skills into preparing and joining in conference calls, making presentations internally and externally and also with his own team.  The upshot is that he has a better relationship with his boss, which enhances promotion prospects, and he has improved his overall communication effectiveness with other important stakeholders.

So what now?
If you are ready to take a step up in your career, and want to learn how to be a more powerful communicator, then visit www.oneminutepresenter.com and download a free chapter on how The One Minute Presenter system works to help you develop more executive presence.

About Warwick J Fahy
Warwick works with high-potential senior finance executives who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive gain respect by quickly and powerfully expressing their opinions – even when under pressure.

Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. Warwick can be reached on warwick@oneminutepresenter.com and +86 21 6101 0486.

Links:
The One Minute Presenter available on Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/ylzx3dc
Book information and blog at www.oneminutepresenter.com

Executive Presence: Bring your message to the audience

Published on in Create Your Connection, produce your message and treasure your audience. Closed Tags: , , .
How well do you know your audience?

How well do you know your audience?

One common complaint about business presentations is that they are dull. Many executives that I coach have a tendency to deliver content-focused presentations rather than audience-focused ones. Content-focused means a heavy emphasis on your material and is often accompanied by the presenter reading off the slides. We learned above how to turn numbers into stories. Let’s make the next connection.

Being audience-focused requires the presenter to bridge the gap between content and the audience’s motivations. Invest time to learn more about senior managers’ needs, drives and trigger topics. Does one manager always focus on financial returns? Another on resource deployment. Perhaps another always challenges you? You can then use connecting phrases to address these motivations. Examples include: “Last quarter you expressed a concern on our raw material costs. Here is the new picture.”

Another technique is to use connecting questions, like “Why is this important? “ This rhetorical question allows you to then move onto the answer. “This is important to our business unit because.. “ This technique helps connect more with the audience by focusing your message on their motivations.

Spent an hour before your next presentation to learn more about your audience. What can you learn about your audience that will help you connect your message to them in a more favourable way. People are interest-driven. Find their interests and you will find a more responsive audience.

Are you an Executive? Learn how Warwick helps ambitious executives speak with executive presence here.

Ford use the Golden Avatar to profile their audience for the world car concept

Published on in treasure your audience. Closed Tags: , .

Ford use The Golden Avatar concept

The One Minute Presenter is a journey of 8 steps. Step 2 is “Treasure Your Audience”. One important component of really getting a deep understanding of your audience is to build a Golden Avatar of your ideal types of audiences.

I was recently reading about Ford approach to making a global car. I was interested to find that they are using a Golden Avatar approach by creating “Isabella Everyperson”.

Here’s how they use it:

Ford researched buyers of its previous Fiesta in Europe as well as customers who prefer small cars sold by Volkswagen in Europe, Honda Motor in the U.S., and Toyota in China. These were mostly consumers aged 20 to 30 who had limited funds but a big appetite for fashion and design. Ford next created an imaginary customer—a global archetype, if you will. Her name is “Isabella,” a recent college graduate living near Milan. Isabella is creative, thinking about pursuing journalism, a modest earner, and likes city living. She is fashionable and plugged into social media. “We found that Isabella’s personality traits, aspirations, and sensibilities, and what she wants in a car, [resonated] in each market where we ran consumer clinics, whether it was Sydney or St. Louis.”

Read the whole article in BusinessWeek here.