Speaking to the Big Dogs: A Boardroom Survival Kit

A Boardroom Survival Kit

You need to remember that everything is different in the board room if you want to succeed in making presentations. They won’t look kindly on saving your conclusions until the end, and they won’t sit through a 20-page PowerPoint deck. This is a demanding group who wants the bottom line first, a lot of discussion, and a presentation who has done their homework.

You can hear directly from C-level executives what they want from people who present at their staff meetings in Speaking to the Big Dogs DVD. The 17 executives interviewed on this DVD will give you valuable insights and tips that will help you prepare for and make your next presentation. People are talking about Speaking to the Big Dogs DVD.

The preparation, the presentation, the people, the process, and the human connection are part of the program. The executives talk about what kind of homework they expect you to do prior to the presentation, how important it is for you to get to the point and manage your time with them, why it is important to know your audience, what to do if problems arise, and much more.

Objectives:

Communication up is completely different than any other type of communication.

Understand how to deal with power.

Understand what Big Dogs want to hear.

Understand what makes a big dog bristle.

When and how to use visual aids.

How to deal with nervousness.

Understand how to be on the agenda of the Big Dogs.

Time gets cut, Big Dogs get bored, decision maker leaves, dealing with big egos, and much more.

Eight Tips for Successful Big Dog Dialogue

According to the tips given by the C-Level Executives and other senior management, speakers at the highest level would do well to remember these eight tips.

1. It is not a presentation. It’s not like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it Don’t expect a monologue with the Big Dogs.

2. The first line is the bottom line. It’s not like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it Your first line should be what you want from the meeting. You might not get a chance to say your second line.

3. The 10 / 30 rule is followed. Prepare 10 minutes of material if you have a 30-minute presentation. Most of your time with the Big Dogs will be spent in discussion.

4. There is a substitute for analytical information in stories. The higher up you go in the organization, the less stories you should use. Make sure the numbers are tied.

5. Prepare to give up the middle. The discussion will be taken wherever the Big Dogs want it to go. If necessary, you should be prepared to dump most of your prepared material. At the end, bring it to a successful conclusion.

6. Do your homework. One of the most important and rewarding opportunities in business is speaking to senior management. Prepare months in advance. Check with other functional areas that may be affected by what you are proposing, learn about the politics of the group, and send them advanced material on your talk. Strategy is more important than presentation skills.

7. The number of PowerPoint slides should be reduced. It can be career limiting in front of the Big Dogs if you read too much or use too much visual aids. The rule is 10 / 30. You will only need three slides for a 30 minute presentation if you prepare for 10 minutes of content and figure three minutes. If they want to drill down, they should have back up slides.

There are 8. Bad news presented. Get the bad news as soon as possible. Explain why it happened and what you are going to do to fix it. Let them make their own decisions.

Do not get stressed out. Dan Warmenhoven is the CEO of Network Appliance.

We are on your side. We are on the same team. We wouldn’t invite you to be here if we didn’t want you to succeed.

Rick Gilbert is available at nextskillup.com right now.

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