Tag Archive for 'CFO'

Are you an influential executive?

Published on in executive presence and Influence. Closed Tags: , , , .

Key point summary:

A. Influence is the number one skill a high performing executive demonstrates

B. Leadership teams need to set and cascade the “story” behind strategy and change initiatives

C. Individual executives must be able to express the message in different formats and lengths

In John C Maxwell’s book “Becoming a person of influence”, he says that “if your desire is to be successful or to make a positive impact on your world, you need to become a person of influence. Without influence, there is no success.”

For today’s executives who project influence and confidence, this means getting more done through their teams. As companies move towards global and matrix organisations, being effective means less command-and-control and more encouraging, advocating and inspiring. The best executives are able to attract people and resources by defining and expressing a purpose. Much like Steve Job’s famed “reality distortion field”, the most influential executives can create an environment where people contribute more, are willing to see things through and ultimately care more about the outcomes.

Challenges are plentiful. The business world is fast moving and complex. Change is hard to predict. While it’s relatively easy to set strategy and announce a new vision, making this a reality takes much more work. The leadership team needs to play an active role in cascading the benefits of change and selling it to the company. Obstacles like resistance to change, confusion over the reason why change is necessary, reluctance to adopt new working styles all play a role in slowing down the implementation of important change projects across global organisations.

Executives need to play a more active role in communication. Today people are looking for a combination of management and leadership from their managers. To fully engage the talents, energy and commitment, a good executive not only delegates a clear package to her team but also articulates the “why” – the importance of the project to the organisation as a whole. Setting the context and connecting it to the individual project gives the team a stronger reason to buy into the project. It also acts as a guiding star for the team as they move forward and handle project challenges.

Degrees of separation reduce your influence. While many leaders like to think that the fact they said something once will engage the whole company to act, often the reality is very different. From my experience, working with leadership team very often there is no clear shared understanding of the direction of the company in terms of how the individual executives talk about it with their peers, subordinates and partners. If there is no shared clarity at the top, how can we expect middle management to be confident in expressing a consistent theme to their reports?

Even a charismatic CEO is not enough. People are most influenced by their line managers and while the CEO may engage his leadership team and inspire them. Unless these executives are also rolling down the same message, it’s impact is lost. What is needed are executives and middle managers who are equally proficient at influence. In large global organisations where a change initiative is planned worldwide this is essential otherwise all the effort into creating a strategy is lost once it drops below the leadership team.

Use this checklist to test how influential your leadership team’s messaging is:

1. Does the leadership have a clear vision and strategy for the next three years?

2. Has this message been refined and talked about so everyone is on the same page?

3. Is there consensus among the leadership team?

4. Has everyone agreed to share this message regardless of their personal resistance or objections?

5. Has the leadership team gone through a simulated media-style interview where they are put on the spot and asked to deliver the key message?

6. Can the leadership team deliver the key point of the message without slides?

7. Have the top executives committed to cascading the message to their line managers?

8. Acid test: If you asked five people in your organisation about the strategy or change initiative, how consistent would their answers be?

This polishing and refinement is often overlooked by leadership teams and executives are left to their own devices. This leaves too much up to their own personal opinions. Once the CEO and top executives have committed to the strategy, everyone needs to get on-board. By ensuring that their story is aligned, the change has a higher rate of success. How well are your executives influencing?

All the best,

Feel free to contact us at any time.

Warwick John Fahy and The One Minute Presenter Team

Where are you on the “Speak with Executive Presence Pyramid”?

Published on in executive presence. Closed Tags: , , , .

speak-with-exec-presence-pryamid4

As you advance your career, the ability to express yourself effectively – in a concise, precise and memorable way – becomes even more important. Executives from technical backgrounds – like finance and engineering – can benefit from specifically becoming more aware about their communication style. Being able to adjust to different audiences is the hallmark of successful executives.

There are broadly fives types of communication abilities:

0.0 Ineffective

Unfortunately many executives have not addressed their presenting and communication skills and their personal brand suffers as peers and line managers become frustrated by the amount of time and effort it takes for them to convey a message. If complaints about how an executive comes across are raised on a consistent basis, urgent attention is required.

1.0 Competent

Over time many executives improve their communication to a competent level. They are able to deliver their functional presentations like technical reports and financial statements without too many problems. However, as they rise through the ranks more effort is needed to continually hone their ability. As the executives needs to deliver more presentations to senior leaders and to more diverse audiences, they need deeper preparation and rehearsal to effectively convey their message.  If they do not work on these skills then they are in danger of slipping back into the ” ineffective” zones. At this stage many executives resist the need to address their communication skills and fall-back on their technical abilities – to the long term detriment of their careers.

2.0 Influential

Executives who are influential are able to shape a clear message and deliver it effectively to a wide range of audiences.  These executives are most comfortable on topics closest to their experience. For example, finance executives are able to deliver technical presentations to non-technical senior audiences. Executives are regarded as good presenters and through consistent improvement and rehearsal are able to deliver to larger audiences and engage more diverse audiences.

3.0 Impactful

Executives in this zone consistently deliver confident presentations and are “always ready to deliver”. They string together influential presentations. They are the go to executive when a media interview is called at short notice. They are able to take complex messages and connect it to diverse audiences so that each audience buy-into the intent of the message. Executives with impactful communication skills build significant support from internal and external stakeholders and are invited to represent the company at public events.  They have developed their communication skills to a point where they can quickly and effectively prepare and deliver powerful and memorable speeches.

4.0 Change-makers

When your organisation needs to articulate a major change, they turn to executives in the change-maker category of communication skills. These executives can build a case for the change by reaching out, understanding and shaping how the change offers opportunity for each stakeholder. The change-makers play a key role in creating, articulating and cascading the message throughout the organisation. Their ability to clarify, hone and sharpen the message is essential for any large company making an important change. Senior leaders need to advance their communication skills to this category especially when they are operating in a turbulent and dynamic environment.

5.0 Executive Presence

Executives who can speak with executive presence are a key weapon in a company’s communication strategy. Their value to the organisation goes way beyond their communication skills. Executives, like Steve Jobs or Richard Branson become the leading tip of the spear in positioning their companies as thought-leaders and premium brands in their markets. They attract the best talent to work with them and they can attract attention to even mundane presentations – like product launches.

Conclusion

Where would you position your communication and presenting ability on the Speak with Executive Presence Pyramid? Do you have a plan to take a step up to the next level. As executives get to the top of their technical silo, their communication abilities will dictate how much freedom they have to decide on their future career steps. Contact us if you would like to know more about how to ascend the pyramid. We especially help executives from technical backgrounds to become more influential and impactful in their presentation and communication skills.

About the Author: Warwick J Fahy

“I work with senior executives working for multinationals in Greater China who lack the executive presence to effectively influence key stakeholders. While these executives are very smart, very knowledgeable and highly capable, a key piece missing. Their executive communication skills need polishing. I help executives build a strong foundation in executive communication so that they are able to better think, speak and act like a leader to set and implement strategy. Recently, we helped a CEO turn his communication style from being nervous and uninspiring into a more engaging, confident and purposeful executive.”  Learn more about who I help here.

Find out whether your executive team is performing to the best of their potential with Warwick’s article “10 Warning Signs Your Leaders Lack Executive Presence”. Email me and I’ll send you a PDF version.

Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”. Warwick is author of the forthcoming book ‘Speak with Executive Presence in China’

Now available on Amazon.com.

Sign up to “52 Tips to more confident public speaking” newsletter at www.warwickjohnfahy.com
©2011 Warwick John Fahy

CFOs: Do you find yourself feeling uncomfortable when asked to present to the Board of Directors?

Published on in Deliver with Style, executive presence and Resources. Closed Tags: , , , , .

Download this article as a PDF file.

Learn easy-to-implement strategies to communicate more effectively with your senior managers

Many technical experts find a glass ceiling prevents future promotions

While you are technically excellent and have risen through the ranks smoothly until now, you sense resistance to your future promotion prospects. Your last two performance reviews have flagged up communication skills as a development area. But to be honest, you are not entirely convinced that you need to improve – you have been successful in your career, so why change now?

You have to give opinions on complex issues to directors who may not fully understand all the technical aspects. As you are not sure how much they know about the technical issues, you have tended to explain all the basic processes in a logical fashion so that the directors will understand your conclusions. This approach often results in your presentation being interrupted and you sense that the directors get impatient the longer you speak. Although you are comfortable in one-to-one interactions, when you are standing in front of your superiors and getting asked a question, you find it difficult to find the words to adequately express your ideas concisely.

You are not always fully certain that you understand the motivations of the people in the meeting or on the conference call. Some directors you only see once a year and others you have never met before. It’s difficult to know how to prepare a presentation for people you don’t know well and who may have different expectations. The result is that you sense a lot of frustration and tension when communicating with your senior managers. It doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need to be stuck here forever.

Finance executives who switch their mindset can become valued business partners

Imagine a situation where you are able to engage with your directors on an equal footing. Shatter the glass ceiling that is preventing your promotion by grasping the essentials of executive communication. Switch your mindset from a technical expert to an effective executive by understanding how future leaders all have superior communication skills. Adapt to how top executives think so that you layer your presentation and deliver just the right amount of technical detail. Handle question and answer sessions with confidence and use a framework to manage unexpected questions. Anticipate the motivations of senior executives and how to deliver on these expectations to a diverse audience.

You are not alone.

Advance your career by learning how to speak like an 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 excellent with process, procedure, the integrity of data, and especially paying 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.

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 and a couple of things not to do:

Tip 1: Always stand up to deliver a speech of importance.

An engaging speaking voice is very relevant today, as many business presentations are given through teleconferences. The lack of visual cues makes it harder for listeners to catch the message and tougher for speakers to read the audience. Standing up places you in an assertive posture and allows deeper breathing from your diaphragm which aids better vocal quality projection. Opera singers could not deliver with such a wide range while sitting. Strengthening your abdominal muscles enables you to better fill your lungs with air. So you now have another reason to get to the gym.

Tip 2: Gradually expand your ability to project your voice.

Adding strength and authority starts with becoming comfortable with the sound of your own voice. Before I became a professional speaker, I was incredibly shy and self-conscious when speaking to groups. Partly this is because I am a natural introvert like many professionals in finance, IT and engineering. This can’t be changed overnight but like any skill can be developed. Practise your presentation out aloud, ideally in a meeting room, and project your voice so that someone at the back of the room would hear. While you don’t need to sing out your windows, find fun excuses to raise your voice, like playing sports or refereeing a football match at your children’s school.

Tip 3: Great speakers are made, not born.

No infant starts with a fear of public speaking. Conversely, no one is born a natural public speaker. Circumstances, experiences and environment all play a key part in how people develop. I had a bad experience in a school drama class that put me off public speaking for decades. The good news is that these fears can be overcome. Hard work and determination to improve are the greatest success factors in becoming an effective public speaker. Many presenters do not allocate any time to rehearse their speech. If you have three weeks to prepare a totally new 20 minute presentation allow between 30 minutes and 1 hour a day for preparation and time-block it in your calendar. You wouldn’t expect to become a better swimmer if you never went to the pool, so find the time to practice your speaking skills.

Tip 4: Learn to self-evaluate

You don’t learn by doing, you learn by re-doing. Accelerate your learning by listening to your presentation on a video or audio recorder. This highly effective way makes you more aware of the areas you need to focus on – if you can get over the embarrassment of looking or listening to yourself! After watching a recording, take a piece of paper and divide it into two halves. Write down all your strengths on one side and areas that you would like to improve on the other. You will be surprised after this exercise, sometimes you sound better than you imagined. Most audiences don’t judge us as harshly as we critique ourselves.

Tip 5: Visit the venue for larger conference speaking

For important talks, consider simulating the environment or actually visiting the venue where you will speak. This is important for all presenters because by walking on the stage you get a feel for the microphone, the seat arrangements and the acoustics. Every room is different, so the best business presenters, like Steve Jobs, work live rehearsals at the venue into their preparations.

Don’t do this…

The Oscar winning film, The King’s Speech showed some bizarre therapies to improve public speaking. Best to avoid things like:

  • Relaxing your throat by smoking deeply into your lungs! Voice care is important so drink plenty of water and add lemon or honey. You can also lightly massage your vocal chords before you start presenting.

  • A piece of bad advice is “always start with a joke”. While humour can connect with your audience, it’s such a high risk approach. You might offend, not deliver it with the best timing or just not tell a funny joke. Not the best way to start your presentation.

  • Another bizarre technique in the film saw a speech therapist ask King George to fill his mouth with marbles and start speaking. This was supposed to improve his articulation. While I wouldn’t recommend this technique, clear articulation is an important aspect of a good speaking voice. Instead find some private space and practice reading your script or a book out aloud at half your normal speed taking care to pronounce every single syllable in every single word. This exercise brings attention to clear pronunciation and will help you deliver your speech more crisply when you return to normal speed.

In addition to the above tips, remember these two key lessons. Firstly, only you can change you. If you don’t want to improve or if you don’t think it’s that important then your progress will reflect that. Secondly, being consistent and realistic about changing an engrained behaviour is essential. Put some time aside to rehearse and the improvements will follow.

Case study: Many CFOs have benefited from The One Minute Presenter coaching

I work with many CFOs from multinationals around Greater China. Here is a case study of a typical challenge we face:

Background

Chinese national, 15 year veteran from a Big 4 consulting firm, now an in-house tax specialist with a high end real estate investor and project manager. Project-based with high pressure from commercial directors based all across China and a global CFO in New York.

One big difference that affects executives when they change companies and industries is the change in working style. The main different in working style was that John was used to provide advice to the client and then the client would choose to use it or not. Either way, John was not usually involved in the implementation. In his new role, he was expected to not only provide advice, but to do so in grey areas where there were no clear mandates from tax authorities, then supply a recommendation and once the commercial director had made a decision, drive this plan forward.

A common issue inside multinationals based in China is that executives are not proactive enough. This is due to a mixture of reasons ranging from personality, culture, education and previous working environments. When working with senior executives who have already obtained a measure of success in their careers, it can be diffficult to switch their mindset. A common reaction is “why should I change? I have already reached a high position in the company and am happy with my compensation.” this is true and with the current talent situation in China, qualified executives can easily find a new position. However, most executives are still driven to improve and do better and this is the hook that needs to be found to make the change stick. As Marshall Goldsmith says, “what got you here, won’t get you there”. Once executives make the mindset switch, they are more open to work with.

The pain

Although everyone regarded John as a subject matter expert, frustrations emerged in meetings and telephone calls with the business directors. John used his consultant’s approach to give detailed, sometimes rambling presentations that went into tax legislations in great depth. This is a common symptom when the presenter feels that they need to continually establish their credentials as an expert. In this situation, his audience just wished he would get to the point quickly and directly. With millions of dollars investment on the line and time-pressure a major factor, they needed to get the best advice, make a decision and make it happen.

The lack of face to face contact of teleconferences adds more stress on executives who are operating in their second language. In face to face settings, they can pick up more meaning from non verbal cues like facial gestures and more clearly hearing tone of voice. Down the line this information is lost and executives are less reluctant to commit themselves.

What we did?

After a few coaching sessions, John realised that he needed to find a new approach. We introduced a framework – a structure in which John could slot in his content. We work with about 12 presentation frames and we selected one that enabled him to cut out the technical details which his audience didn’t want, and complete his presentation with a firm recommendation.

A major point was the change in mindset that took place when John realised that even seemingly simple engagements like conference calls needed a great deal of preparation – far more than he had previously thought necessary. The “ah-ha” moment came when John said “This really needs a lot of preparation!” After he ‘got it’, we could then work on the techniques to help him prepared more effectively.

Outcome

His commercial directors appreciated this approach as their meetings were shorter, they didn’t have to drag the information out of him and they could focus their efforts on driving their project forward.

An important take-away is that often executives underestimate the preparation time required to have a masterful grasp of their content. This is a basic entry point before you can start applying tools and techniques to arrange, express and deliver a clear message.

So what now?

If you are ready to take a step up in your career, contact us for a initial complimentary strategy session where we can outline approaches to help you starting speaking like an executive.

About Warwick J Fahy

“Warwick is passionate about helping executives, working in multinational companies based in Greater China, speak out with executive presence so they can think, speak and act like a leader. I help executives turn the complex into compellingly simple message that are understood, passed on and acted on.”

Learn more about who I help here.

Download the Speak like an Executive Executive Communication White Paper here (PDF, 237kb)

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.

New: Read “The One Minute Presenter” as an e-book. Available in all maor e-book formats here.

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

©2011 Warwick John Fahy

Executive Presence for Senior Finance Executives: Five Formats to handle difficult questions

Published on in Master the Q&A and Resources. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .

Handling questions in meetings and conference calls can be a challenge. Not only do you need to think quickly, but you also are expected to deliver a concise and clear answer. Many senior executives, despite frequent calls, still struggle with this aspect of executive speaking. This article will focus on giving you five approaches in how to address questions in conference calls. Conference calls are especially challenging as the lack of visual cues makes it harder to read the intention of the other party. We will provide sample answers using each of the five formats.

Challenges with communicating via conference call

  • Often held at unsociable hours

  • No visual cues

  • More interference [bad lines,multi-tasking like checking emails]

  • Harder to follow what each party is saying unless set-up and cues are used

  • Conversations can side-track and run over-time

  • One party talks for too long and loses interest of other parties or the other party cannot follow their answer

  • It’s harder to address complex issues unless checking techniques are used

  • Two skills to master; Voice to project confidence, Structure for clarity.

Answering a question: The opening

  • Use a set up to prepare the content (movie trailer versus the movie)

  • Be precise

  • Take a stand ie two points or three points

  • Pause before you answer [rather than saying ‘well, errr’]

  • Use vocal energy [emphasis, volume changes] to project your credibility

  • The opening should be short and concise

Five Types of Answering formats

  • Use a variety of formats in any one conference call

  • If you are not sure how many points to include in your answer, aim low; start with one or two points. Then check with the questioner if they would like to explore the issue in other ways.

Format ONE: The set up

  • Signals to the questioner what’s coming next [like a TV announcement]

  • Respond to the question [eg “That’s a good question”; “The rule is quite new and it is also complicated”]

  • Pause

  • Then overview the points you will cover in your answer

Sample replies

  • The rule is quite new and it is also complicated. There are two main changes. Change one and change two. Let’s start with change one.

The new regulation covers three areas: A, B and C. I will cover each of these areas in more detail now.

Format TWO: Paraphrase the question

  • Restate the question to check your understanding

  • Interpret what you believe the questioner wants to know

  • Do the thinking for the questioner

  • Don’t answer the question until you have clarified

  • Gives you some thinking time

  • Leads to better quality answers

Sample replies

  • As I understand your question, what you would like to know is: what is the major impact of this new regulation?

  • As I hear your question, what you would like to know is whether the impact of the new regulation will affect our business units. Is that correct?

  • If I understand you correctly, you are interested in [topic one]. Could I just check whether you would like to know about X or Y first?

Format THREE: Scope is too broad

  • When the question is too broad, check.

  • Don’t guess. Ask to clarify.

  • Ask a checking question

  • Give options to the questioner

  • Don’t ask the question to do ‘more work’

Sample replies

  • That’s a good question. It’s very broad and complex. Could I ask which aspect you are interested in?

  • That’s a good question. It’s very broad and complex. Should I start with A or B?

  • Two issues come immediately to mind. Issue 1 and Issue 2. Where one would you like to explore first?

  • This is a little broad in nature. It would be helpful if we could be more specific. Should we start with X, Y or Z?

  • This question is a little bit broad, could you be more specific?

Format FOUR: Clarify the question

  • When you are uncertain which aspect the questioner is interested in

  • Complex topics that would take a long time to talk about

  • Giving yourself some thinking time

  • Enables more of a conversational style to emerge in the Q&A

Sample replies

  • I could answer this question in two ways. From perspective A, or perspective B. Which aspect would you like me to focus on first?

  • Good question. Are you most interested in A or B or C?

Format FIVE: Too much information? Slice the melon!

  • When you have a lot of content you could use in your answer [the large watermelon]

  • Slice your information into sections [slices of the melon]

  • Overview the content in bullet points first

  • Then check which area the questioner would like to address first

  • Then focus into and drill down in that area

  • After you have covered each area, check back to see how the questioner would like to proceed

Sample replies

  • This is a complicated area. The main challenges to consider are 1,2,3, and 4. Which issue would you like to start with?

  • This is a very complicated question. The regulations are new and involve a lot of details. We have investigated the implication with our auditors and have identified six areas that we should address. In brief they are 1,2,3,4,5 and 6. Which one is most important to you right now?

  • We have analyzed this problem over the past two months and four areas need to be considered. I would like to briefly overview each area and then perhaps you could tell me which one is most urgent for you right now. We could then drill down into that one first.

How does checking affect your credibility?

  • It enhances it! Precise communication is always appreciated

  • Mix up your language patterns so that you do not repeat the same phrases.

Samples:

  • Could I check my understanding?

  • That’s interesting, let me see if I understand your question.

  • Let me see if I got your point

  • Good question. The focus is a little bit broad. Where are you going with this? What would you like me to address first?

  • To answer that question in full, I could speak for 30 minutes. Could you help me understand where I should start?

Conclusion

While conference calls, meetings and aggressive questioners will always be a fact of life for many senior business executives, using these five formats will give you the confidence that you can better engage, interact and connect with even the most challenging of question.

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

“Warwick is passionate about helping executives, working in multinational companies based in Greater China, speak out with executive presence so they can think, speak and act like a leader. I help executives turn the complex into compellingly simple message that are understood, passed on and acted on.”

Learn more about who I help here.

Download the Speak like an Executive Executive Communication White Paper here (PDF, 237kb)

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.

New: Read “The One Minute Presenter” as an e-book. Available in all maor e-book formats here.

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

You don’t need to be a King to work on your speech!

Published on in Create Your Connection, executive presence, interaction and produce your message. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

The highly acclaimed King’s Speech has been attracting a lot of attention recently. It was an entertaining film, especially for some of the bizarre treatments used to treat stutterers in the 1930s. It reminded me of the elocution lessons I took when I was about five years old to fix a slight problem I had in speaking certain words. Luckily I didn’t need to fill my mouth with marbles.

I was thinking whether this was a good film for my profession or not. Certainly, by showing a sometimes moving story of a person who worked incredibly hard at improving his skills for the new era of radio and public speeches, it is certainly a good role model for how we should all learn.  On the flip side, the eccentric nature of the practitioners (speech therapists) in the film gave me mixed feelings. From their bizarre suggestions that smoking is good for your lungs to the amateur dramatics actors lurking beneath the surface, they seemed to fall into the usual clichés of how public speakers are regarded.

In today’s busy, distracted and short attention span world, I think we do need to be not only great speakers, but also engaging storytellers.

Being an effective presenter is less about the mechanics of public speaking and more about the engagement skills you need to connect with your audiences. So while breathing and measuring the distance to the microphone are nice touches, they are the cherries on the cake.  They are useful only after a solid foundation has been put in place. Business professionals need to engage in so many different ways that most of their presentations are of the informal nature. Conference calls, one-on-one meetings, quick pep talks with their team, business events with regulators. Often they need to be just as persuasive without taking the stage.

So should we all have a speech coach? While I don’t think we need a speech therapist as depicted in the film, there is certainly a need for upgrading of business presentation skills across the board. Visit any company and speak with executives and you will pick up the frustration of long, dull meetings with long, dull data-heavy presentation slides. Or how long it takes to persuade a team that change is needed. Or inability to connect with younger colleagues. Or senior executives from a different country.

Most presentations are forgettable, do not have a clear message, are not delivered with passion, avoid all techniques that might make a message memorable (like story-telling and metaphor creation). Added to this most executives underestimate the amount of preparation that is needed for presenting a message.

A recent coaching engagement brought this out. A senior finance executive was frustrating his direct managers: the country CEO and also a global CFO based overseas. They had frequently asked the executive to be briefer and more concise in their one-on-one meetings which often over-ran by 30 or 60 minutes on a regular basis. Only after two or three coaching sessions where we worked on how to form a concise message, how to use structure to arrange ideas and how to think through the material by using scanning and drilling questions did the executive realise that “ this takes a long time to prepare” .  At first, like any new skill, it will take longer. But with practice, various techniques can be learned that dramatically reduce the time taken by the executive to prepare and deliver his points. When you think about how much it costs your organisation to have three or four senior level people in a meeting, this added productivity is a cost saver. In addition, the improvement in the relations between the executives helps enormously get things done in future projects.

So if you haven’t seen The King’s Speech yet, it is an entertaining view and if it does inspire you to think about improving your public speaking or presentation skills, then please do contact us. We specialise in executive communication and have specific coaching packages to help senior executives become more productive through their communication and also for particular events like conference speaking.

How engaging is your presenting?
Here are a few questions to check before you deliver:

  1. Do you have an overall message for your speech which you could express in under 10 words?
  2. Do you have a good metaphor for your presentation?  (A quest, a battle, an exploration)
  3. Could you create a single visual image that would express your main idea?
  4. Will anyone remember your presentation? On a scale from 1 to 10, how memorable do you think your presentation will be? Will anyone remember it in a month’s time? Three months?
  5. Have you drawn your key points into catchy sound-bites, questions, powerful statements or eye-catching visuals that will help the audience engage with your main message?

If you can answer “yes!” to all five questions then you are well on your way to creating a great presentation. Make sure you then spend as much time as you can in rehearsal. For a 20 minute presentation, you should be spending 2 -3 hours in stand-up, speak-out-aloud rehearsal.

List of famous stutterers here.

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 our web site below and download a free chapter on how The One Minute Presenter system works to help you develop more executive presence.

Warwick John Fahy 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. Clients hire Warwick for his highly practical approach. For free executive speaking tips http://www.oneminutepresenter.com/blog

To arrange presentation skills coaching visit http://www.warwickjohnfahy.com. For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Up to 90% of business presenters talk at their audience instead of interacting with them.

Published on in Deliver with Style. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Learn what type of presenter you are and five methods to hold your audience’s attention throughout your presentation.

Work pressure contributes to a total lack of preparation for important presentations
Business presenters are under a lot of pressure today. Workloads have increased as companies implemented hiring freezes during the global economic slowdown and with Blackberrys ubiquitous, executives are always “on” and subjected to a constant stream of information. While they may have to chair weekly meetings, participate in global conference calls or provide regular updates to senior managers, very rarely are these frequent communication requirements fully prepared or rehearsed.

This means many executives fall into the trap of just getting by and filling up their presentation time with a stream of data that may or not be relevant to their listeners. Executives without adequate rehearsal and preparation have to focus so much on their content – to the extent that they have to think about each sentence before delivering it – that they completely ignore the fact that an audience is listening.

When their audience is peers or juniors then no comment is made on their lacklustre performance. However, when facing senior mangers – often located in different countries – the executive can face a grilling in the question and answer section, or a hostile reception with frequent interruptions. If they don’t face such direct confrontations, then word gets back to their line manager or HR that they do not possess the communication skills to progress in the organisation.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Instead of being focused on content, executives should understand the benefits of being audience-centric in their preparation.

Moving away from data dumping improves marketability of the executive
While work pressure and the inevitable time squeeze is unavoidable for most executives, with some preparation they can greatly improve how their message is received. This has obvious benefits for senior managers. Being known as an executive who has mastered communication skills means that you feel satisfied when you are able to influence important decisions that affect the future of the company. You are more likely to be called upon when key projects and high profile pressure situation emerge. These can greatly enhance the marketability of the executive inside the company, as well as being immensely rewarding in terms of personal fulfilment.

So if you feel that you are stuck for time and believe that you could benefit from learning how to adjust your presentation from being too content focused, don’t worry, you are not alone.

Your audience is in the same boat as you…too much information
If any of the above sounds familiar, don’t worry, you are not alone. In fact, you are in good company. Many executives have similar issues. Today’s increasingly global work day means that work never finishes and many executives feel overwhelmed by the pressure and information that they need to absorb. You don’t need a scientific study to convince yourself that executives have to digest an immense amount of information compared with ten or even five years ago.

Of course this means your audiences are often in the same boat. They have too much information and usually not much patience for data dumps or irrelevant presentations.
Executives can’t be expected to automatically know what it takes to interact with their audiences. The good news is that help is here and you can learn these skills.

Move from content to audience focus with advice from The One Minute Presenter
To take a step away from data dumping and giving irrelevant presentations that focus too much on content and adjust more to your audiences, you first need to understand what type of presenter you are.

What type of presenter are you?
You’re audience blocked if you deliver a presentation without any idea of what the audience is doing, thinking, or feeling. You don’t see potential interruptions like pen banging or mobile message checking. You don’t hear sighs of exhaustion. You don’t feel when the audience is lost or doesn’t understand your message. In short, you give the same presentation whether the audience is present or not. Many experienced presenters and trainers still have this problem. In my train-the-trainer workshops, I am frequently amazed at how blocked many ‘experienced trainers’ are when it comes to the audience. They love their content and would deliver it to an empty room.  Many technical presenters fall into this trap as they fall back on process when they are nervous.

You’re audience reliant when you constantly need the audience’s reassurance that you’re doing a good job. You’re aware of every move from the audience. If one member of the audience looks unhappy, you’re willing to stop everything and solve their issues. You’re not sure whether you did a good job unless the audience tells you that you’re great. In short, the focus is on you, and the audience is there to make you feel better.
This type of presenter often gets side-tracked and is prone to stopping the presentation if even one person in the audience is breaking a ground rule, like mobile phone checking. While admirable, this often leads to confrontations which do not move the presentation forward or put the presenter in a favourable light. Many novice presenters and under-confident presenters fall into this category.

You’re audience connected when you’re aware of the feeling in the room. You can see how individual members are reacting and although you don’t stop every time you get a negative response (like a yawn or sigh), you do course-correct. You might stop and do a quick recap or ask checking questions. You’re aware that the audience only has a limited attention span. You vary the delivery pace, and you insert activities or interactive exercises every 15 or 20 minutes. You share experiences and appropriate stories, and you’re willing to have the audience give their input into the presentation. You see the presentation as a shared experience, and actively create the connection with the audience so they give their input. The One Minute Presenter is always audience connected.

How do you interact with your audience?
Actively involve the audience
For larger presentations or trainings, adopt strategies such as games, role plays or other hands-on methods to get your audience involved with the material or subject matter. For conference calls or smaller executive meetings, use the check back method below.

Mix up your approach
To better reinforce messages and allow for individual differences in learning styles, use a variety of methods in presenting material. When in doubt, use something visual that represents your message. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth a million pictures. Do I have to mention that the visual should be relevant to your message?  Other techniques include shortening your presentation (wow what a nice surprise!) and for larger groups using different learning formats, like mini-discussion groups.

Use appropriate humor
Maintain interest by using a small amount of humor (but not too much to be distracting). Always test this out before your presentation. Ask three to five people you trust and if they agree that it’s funny – try it out. Never cross the bounds of taste and if in doubt don’t use it. Again all humour should be related to the point you wish to convey – and not just a video clip of your pet cat on a skateboard.

Always give relevant and specific examples
The more anecdotes and personal stories you can weave into your presentation, the more likely your audience is to understand and remember your message. With clients and senior managers, open with the phrase, “In my experience, ..” which sets you up as an authority in your area of expertise which is exactly what they want from you. If you don’t have any of your own stories, you can reference other people’s stories by acknowledging them. This is not as powerful as something that comes directly from you.

Probe and check back with your audience
Never assume your audience understands your message just because they are not interrupting you. Many Asian cultures do not have a habit of directly challenging a presenter but that doesn’t mean they are listening either! Get into the habit of asking questions frequently and being aware of their response. Simple checking questions – like “Does that make sense to you?”, “Can you see how this relates to the problem at hand?” – lets you see how the audience is digesting your messages and also gives permission for questions to be raised. With larger groups you can lead into problems for the audience to solve, e.g. group work or case studies. The poorest technique I have seen is to deliver your presentation and then only ask one question at the end: “Are there any questions?” Invariably there are none because the audience switched off ages ago. Insert questions every two to four minutes in your presentations.

Many executive have benefited from The One Minute Presenter coaching
I work with many senior executives from multinationals around Greater China. Just recently, after helping one senior executive to become more aware about what type of presenter he was (audience blocked) and to practise some of the techniques mentioned above, he was able to interact more effectively with his audience which meant that his presentations were more enjoyable as issues surfaced during the delivery rather than a week or two afterwards. He adjusted his interaction skills to become much more connected with his audience. He now tends to seek more audience participation as a way to test and strengthen his ideas which has made him a more effective (and liked) executive.

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 us below 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 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  +86 21 6101 0486.

Senior Finance Executives: Are you struggling to convince your boss in your presentations?

Published on in produce your message. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , .

Learn how to turn your technical presentations into engaging message-based presentations that get your boss’ attention and will cut your presentation time in half

Technical ability alone will not help senior finance executive’s get promoted
Many senior finance executives in China have risen the corporate ladder on the back of their solid technical ability and operational skills. They have been able to ride the massive growth in China over the past decade by combining a strong technical grasp and an aptitude to understand their client’s needs in compliance and financing.

These senior executives are often held up as future country or regional Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). However, one significant obstacle awaits many finances executives – their strength in technical issues. Many senior finance executives are too focused on the details, the process and procedures. So when presenting to CEOs, board of directors or  overseas directors, they are frustrated by their inability to get their point across without being bombarded by direct questions, interrupted constantly in their presentation and feeling of being harassed by senior management.  While technical skills got them to where they are today, they can’t take them any further in their careers.

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

Senior finance executives who can present effectively are highly marketable
Presentations to senior management often cause nerves and tension in any presenter. Many technical presenters – especially in finance – are naturally introverted and when faced with A-type personalities they are often talked-over or easily interrupted. However, by learning some important skills in presentation creation and delivery, even shy and quiet presenters can learn how to get their point across to their CEO in a concise, crisp and engaging way. Importantly, their presentations can be delivered in a much shorter time – which both the senior finance executive and the CEO and directors appreciate! Having a reputation as a CFO who both understands the business and can deliver sharp presentations is a great asset to career promotion. Once learned, these skills deliver a fantastic return-on-investment year-in, year-out.

So if you are currently stuck by delivering overly detailed technical presentations to a group of frustrated senior managers, you are not alone.

Too much information often kills the effectiveness of your presentation
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 you are focused on process, procedure, the small nitty gritty details of data. All of which is essential – and desirable – in finance executives. However, when you reach the C-level, 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. Today, when hiring decisions are made  on the CFO or CEO role -the ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders is one of the most important competencies.

However, as a finance expert, you can’t be expected to automatically know what it takes to create message based presentations that engage your audience in the shortest possible time – you are not an advertising company. The good news is that help is here and you can learn these skills.

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, you first need to understand taglines.

What is a tagline?
Taglines are short catchy marketing phrases which sum up the promise of a brand (or product or movie), and are designed to be memorable and easily passed through a target audience. A good tagline can stand the test of time and become synonymous with a company or product. The 1975-2005 “Don’t leave home without it” from American Express and the 1988 “Just do it” from Nike taglines show how the power of taglines can carry over into building the world’s most valuable brands.

What is your tagline?
Take a look at your next presentation. Use these steps to form your tagline:

1. Write down your happy ending in 25-50 words. In other words what do you want to achieve at the end of the presentation. What do you want the audience to think, feel and do. Be as specific as you can.

2. Take a break and come back to this paragraph.  Highlight key words or phrases. Now imagine you only had time to deliver one sentence to your audience. Keep the value and meaning of your message. Rewrite it in 10 words or less.

3. Put this aside for several hours or longer. Come back and see which words really sum up the essence of your message. Pick out your key words or phrases.

For The One Minute Presenter, our nine word tagline is “successful business presentations for a short attention span world”.  We use two key phrases: successful business presentations and short attention spans.

You now have focus in your presentation. This will help you structure your presentation framework. You can check your supporting points, and choice of visuals (charts, graphs, statistics) against your key words. Ask yourself, “How does this support my key words?”
With practice, you will be able to quickly get to your key words(s) in a shorter time. It will be a challenge the first few times you try this exercise. Stick with it. You need the focus to capture and engage today’s audiences. The clearer your message, the more effective your presentations.

Be aware when you present your ideas
Make your message tangible. Don’t make your audience work it out. If you make them think during a presentation, then while they are thinking, they cannot be listening to your subsequent words. Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules, vividly demonstrates how the human brain is ill equipped to handle two processing tasks simultaneously. “Driving while talking on a cell phone is worse than driving drunk.” This is because the human brain uses something called the attentional spotlight. The attentional spotlight, according to Dr. Medina, cannot multitask which means cellphone-talking car drivers have the same reaction time (when stopping) as a drunk driver. So don’t make your audiences think! Do the thinking for them.  Know where you want to take them, shape a clear concept of your overall message, use stories to engage and bite-size your content with slogans, soundbites and taglines. Puzzles are great for long train and plane journeys, but not for successful business presentations.

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 senior executive  to understand how to create a message-based presentation from their technical data, she told me that her presentation to the board of directors went much more smoothly and took less time than previous years. Importantly, she was interrupted much less with sharp questions. She is now able to apply these skills in other areas of her work, such as conference calls, client meetings and internal senior manager briefings.

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  +86 21 6101 0486.