Strengthen Your Career with Effective Presentations
Of all our skills and certifications, few will advance security professionals further than two vital ones: executive presence and the ability to present to executives. These are the skills that will get you recognized, known, and promoted.
Think about the professionals who have impressed and inspired you thus far in your career. Were they unknown, boring, or perhaps even complainers? Did they avoid the spotlight at meetings? Were they regularly late for meetings, going through emails while others were speaking, or full of judgments in responding to others? Doubtful.
Executive presence is not about showing off nor being an egomaniac. Rather, executive presence is a quality that generates trust from and in others. Various behaviors build executive presence, such as acknowledging others’ input, actively listening, respecting others regardless of their gender or background, and even the tone of your voice or how you shake hands.
Our experiences—at work, places of worship, graduate classes, and even while watching a comedy show—are influenced by the skills of effective communication: energy, storytelling, connection, and engagement. Those qualities can support our message, our take on the data, our compassionate judgment, and our unflinching accountability. This is executive presence.
Leaders constantly try to use executive presence under different names. Sometimes it is feedback to a hotel about a stay that went wrong, or encouragement after a great golf shot, or even our advice in building a Pinewood Derby entry with our fourth grader. We nudge, praise, furrow our brow, teach, and coach.
Having an executive presence is invaluable in that second crucial skill for security professionals: presenting to executives. Why is presenting to executives such a unique skill? Most of us can get up at an awards dinner and say a few words, informally present to our team, or narrate a tour of our facilities. These are standard presentations. Presenting to executives is different.
Executives can be highly critical. They believe, and will tell you, that their time is valuable, with the not-so-subtle implication that your time is not. The challenge is to provide executives with useful ideas that can help them make decisions. But they don’t just want data, especially data they’ve already seen—they want your take on the data. You are the data interpreter, so they can be value interpreters. In these moments, they are receptive listeners hungry for what you, as the expert, have to say. Remember: If you were not the expert, you would not be invited to the discussion.
By combining executive presence with the ability to present to executives, you can enhance your effectiveness and showcase your expertise. You will be an effective champion of the security team, and you will raise your stature in the organization.
Data, Decisions, and the Real Deciders
Decisions are often made with the support of data, but decisions often emotional, and you can be the secret sauce that motivates listeners’ heads and hearts to generate decisive movement. While you might rely on data points during a presentation, your executive presence will do the work of influencing others’ decisions.
When presenting, it’s important to keep in mind a couple of things.
First, no PowerPoint presentation is more important than your expertise and your informed opinions, which is really your unique and much-needed wisdom. Keep the slides simple, even when the idea is complicated. Instead, make yourself the focal point of the show. At its core, PowerPoint is just wallpaper, and in a room full of decision-makers, it’s the people that are important.
Second, when you have to advocate for anything, remind yourself that some others in the audience are already silently disagreeing with you. Don’t try to steamroll over them. Rather, try to incorporate their point of view with yours—not in opposition to yours. For example, you can say, “I really like how both proposals focus on these three fundamentals…” Build a bridge, not a moat.
As for your audience, that might be the person who asked you to give this presentation. Or it could be the highest-ranking person in the room, the one whose decision carries the most weight. Or it could be everyone else in the room. On one hand, all of them are your audience. But there may be one person who you must be most aware of and cater your presentation toward the most. Maybe your presentation can give a subtle nod or an overt reference to this person’s point of view.
Build a bridge, not a moat.
The Physicality of Executive Presence
There are different things to consider when it comes to your physical presence, depending on whether you’re presenting in person or virtually.
In person. When your audience is in the same room, look at each person with a smile, make eye contact, and perhaps nod your head in his or her direction during the presentation. In larger audiences or ones that allow for groupings, when you look at a single person, the people surrounding him or her think that they are who you’re making eye contact with. Take advantage of this effect by looking at these different groups, allowing it to seem like you’re making eye contact with the entire audience. While these tips may sound basic, they convey executive presence, your confidence, and your command of the room.
Just as actors in a performance rely on muscle memory honed during rehearsals, practicing ahead of your presentation will do the same. If possible, use the same room that you will be presenting in when no one else is there. You can also use this time to consider how your audience will view you: Sit in the back, the front, and along the sides of the room to understand those angles.
One thing to avoid is pacing—it can indicate nervousness and tends to unnerve audience members. Instead, when you do move, move with purpose. For example, look at one person in the audience and take two steps toward him or her while you finish conveying a thought. Then, you have the option to turn and do the same thing to someone else. Deliberate movements convey a confident stage presence and will impact your effectiveness.
While engaging with the audience can increase effectiveness and credibility, props like lecterns that create additional obstacles between you and the audience do the opposite, try to avoid them. Your audience wants to see you animated and engaged with them.
Online. When you’re presenting online, make sure to look into the camera, which will let you look directly at every individual at the same time. Look at your camera more than you look at the monitor. There are times to look at the people and yourself, watching to ensure that your slide deck is keeping pace or when someone in the audience raises their virtual hand to ask questions. However, when you look at, into, and through the camera, you are engaging at the highest level with the audience.
While the slides of your PowerPoint will guide you and the audience, don’t use them as a crutch. Too many words on a slide can encourage you to read every word to your audience—no one likes this. Limit your slides to no more than 10 words each. Less is more here; it means that the audience will need you to explain the slide.
If you want to use notes, you can but the delivery should be smooth. Most of my corporate clients that use 4x6-inch index cards—sometimes with extra-large font—initially feel that the cards are necessary but ultimately find they are never used during the presentation. Even if it’s more than the presentation equivalent of a security blanket, that’s fine—just don’t read your presentation from these cards. Only look at them for the occasional reminder.
Don’t sit too far away or too close to the camera. A good gauge is to imagine a three-by-three grid superimposed on the screen reflecting your image, with your eyes aligned with the horizontal line separating the top third from the next third. Eye contact with the camera is eye contact with each person.
Having Presence
Having a presence in a room is about more than just being present in that space. I can sit next to you at an all-day seminar and not speak to you. We would both be present in the space, but we would not impart a presence to one another.
When I begin a conversation with you, I have an opportunity to be present and have a presence with you. The secret to presence is talking with and listening to the other person, while not talking too much about yourself.
Executive presence is a felt experience of engagement and trust. Those with executive presence take the initiative to meet, listen, and get to know other people even when someone seemingly has no immediate connection, works in a different department, or perhaps is a one-time meeting. We do this out of respect, of course, but also for practice. The skills involved in these interactions hinge on one thing: Talk about yourself less, or only when asked. Instead, focus on the other person.
Professional coaches use the mnemonic device W.A.I.T., which stands for Why Am I Talking, as a reminder to students about where the focus needs to fall during these conversations and how it supports the larger goal. Often, the answer is to talk less and listen more.
While practicing your presence in conversations, remember to repeat, be curious, and give encouragement.
Repeat. Repetition is an indicator that you’re actively listening to the speaker, but don’t repeat everything he or she says. Instead, paraphrase the core or essence of the message.
Be curious. You can indicate a respectful curiosity with questions that help the speaker open up more. For example, instead of asking a colleague about the pizza he ordered in a story about a family trip to Italy, ask why his mom was so nostalgic about it during the trip. Whatever you do here, don’t talk about yourself, even if you like pizza or went on a vacation. Keep the focus on him and building connections with him.
Encourage. Giving encouragement is pure magic for the engaged executive with presence. End the conversation with what you liked, learned, or appreciated about your time with this person. Avoid trite sayings, like “Great speaking with you.” Instead, try “I really liked your description of how close your family became on your trip to Italy.”
But how does this apply to presenting? Being present and having presence are a continuum of who you are and who you want to be for others.
Talk about yourself less, or only when asked. Instead, focus on the other person.
For a successful presentation, you want the audience to remember not only the data, information, and insight you provide during your presentation, but also your presence. You can build your presence through conversations before a presentation. It’s a good policy to arrive early so you can welcome and chat one-on-one in an open and friendly way with everyone who enters, even if you already know them.
If, for example, you find yourself talking with the CEO (whether before a meeting or by happenstance), make sure your conversation has substance—that it reiterates an aspect relating to the organization’s larger goals, exhibits curiosity, and encourages positive elements. When the CEO asks you how you are, don’t say “I’m busy.” This seems like a nervous response and does not build presence. Instead, bring up an observation about something that connects to the larger picture. For example, “Do you know George, the guard at the West Entrance? He said a remarkable thing to me recently that mirrored our mission statement, and I’m not sure if he knew he did. He said, ‘I work here for the money for sure, but the currency of this place is community.’” The CEO will remember that and you, and he or she will likely share that story with others.
During a presentation, you can also expect questions from the audience. A meeting with the C-suite or the board of directors is like standing before a congressional committee or the Supreme Court. In other settings, people will wait until you finish. Executives and board members, just like lawmakers and justices—will interrupt you with questions or commentary. So, you must be ready.
Prepare for these interruptions in advance by knowing your data and content. You can also ask your friends, administrators, and other connections about what questions they would ask about your presentation.
First, remain calm, even if your audience isn’t.
When someone poses a question, listen carefully and identify the question beneath the question. The question spoken aloud might be, “What about cost overruns, like what the company last year?” But the underlying question could be, “How is this going to impact my department?” Make sure that your answer addresses both as much as possible.
Another aspect of listening might sound basic, but it is crucial: Don’t interrupt. Listen and don’t start speaking until the person is done with his or her question. Then, take a breath and begin your response in a reasonable tone. If you are nervous, here is a tip that professional actors use to help them remain in character when they would otherwise break the scene by laughing or another out-of-character reaction: Press your thumb against your pointer finger, using it as a physical cue or reminder to stay focused. No one else will notice, and it can help you stay on point and on message.
In general, it is natural to be nervous before and during (and maybe even after) a presentation. Questions presenters often ask themselves include, “Do I look OK?” “Should I review my PowerPoint one more time?” “What if I go blank?” “Should I begin with a joke?” To that last question: No! Never!
Focusing on being nervous while trying to be natural is not helpful because instead it usually makes you more nervous. What if, however, you countered “I’m nervous” with “I’m excited” as your inner voice. Remember that you are the expert they invited, you prepared, you are ready, and the audience is excited to hear your message.
When presenting in person, meet and greet as you would at a wedding. Go up to people before the presentation, smile, and let them know you are the guest speaker. As an ice breaker, I always say hello and ask them to overreact to my presentations. This is always followed by a laugh and a personal promise to do so.
For online presentations, don’t let all those boxed heads just stare back at you, waiting for the meeting to begin. Instead, ask them to engage in the chat box with an ice breaker question, such as their first concert and how it was. As the responses come in, you can cherry-pick a few people to interview on screen. Now you have an engaged audience having a positive, fun, common experience, and despite the miles that separate you, everyone is united and alert. Any fun question accomplishes this task. My hunch is that any nerves you have will melt away.
Attention-Grabbers
In a presentation, start with the most important conclusion—the essential yin and yang of the topic or the questions that are misunderstood but have to be resolved. I call this eating your dessert first because you’re giving the audience the good stuff right away. Don’t talk about yourself, the weather, the introducer, or how you wonder why they asked you here. Don’t worry about warming up the audience—instead, come in hot and with energy, saying what needs to be said with strength and conviction, even if it is controversial. Get their attention.
You can keep their attention throughout the presentation by appropriately using key phrases or words: “…and the reason this is important is…” or “…and so what I learned from the data is…” or “My take on all of this comes down to three questions for us to consider.” If you want any audience to perk up and really listen to you, those are the phrases that connect and challenge.
Soliciting Feedback
Don’t wait for written evaluations that may be emailed days later. Instead, dig for more when someone compliments you on your presentation by saying something like, “Great job.” Thank the person but add a question, like, “What did you like especially?” You will get on-the-spot feedback about an element of your presentation, perhaps its impact or its power.
Evaluations fall into three categories. Ten to 15 percent of evaluations will be full of praise. Another five to 10 percent may involve an assessor who had a very bad day and decided to take it out on you. The other 60 to 80 percent is where you can learn what you did well and how to improve for next time. You have to look at evaluations with a trained eye, however, to protect your self-esteem. Whether you like or dislike what you hear, ask yourself if you agree.
When someone that I respect or feel close to is critical or overly positive—such as my boss, my wife, or a trusted colleague—I write down what they are saying as they are saying it. This creates a bit of emotional distance. All I have to say is, “Thank you, this is good to know,” or “Tell me more.” The person will feel listened to, and you can evaluate the critique later by reviewing your notes.
You must judge what feedback is helpful. Use it to get better, not to beat yourself up. After every presentation I ask myself two questions: What did I do well? What can I do a bit better next time? This engages growth.
And going in not expecting perfection helps also. The job of the presenter is not to achieve perfection, but rather to be effective. We all make mistakes, but our job is to be effective with data, information, but mostly our take on the data.
You must judge what feedback is helpful. Use it to get better, not to beat yourself up.
Storytellers Win the Day, and So Can You
Storytellers are deliberate listeners and alert observers of the surrounding world. They look for universal and personal metaphors that convey the meaning of complex ideas.
All the great comedians of our time sound spontaneous but are anything but. They write notes to themselves about what they see, hear, feel, and are perplexed by. Then they edit ruthlessly. The next time you hear a great joke on late night TV or attend a live comedy show, consider which words were absolutely necessary. Usually all of them, but it didn’t start out that way.
You can also consider quotes from great writers or orators like Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Abraham Lincoln, your favorite modern politician, or even your witty spouse. You can learn to do the same and become known for making complex ideas or issues easier to understand, or at least more palatable to hear. Make a note of things that bemuse you, are stunning metaphors about life, or are little-known trivia, like a report about the behavioral pattern of clownfish cooperating with their mate and adapting together. Also consider education and training instances that all those in your profession have gone through. These can be used to engage an audience of peers and applied to presentations.
So, let me summarize: The audience, the other person, the interest you show in them, the way you are gracious and attentive to them, how you conduct yourself with others when speaking, presenting, or sharing a meal or an Uber ride—all of these have one critical factor: them!
While you and I are quite conscious of how we are doing, ultimately, we depend on others in achieving how we want to be perceived, how we want to succeed, and how we want to appear.
Kevin E. O’Connor, CSP, CEC, is a professional speaker and teacher of technical professionals charged with leading their peers. O’Connor teaches for ASIS International and has presented at GSX. He is an executive coach and has earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation—fewer than 600 people in the world hold this honor for speaking and teaching excellence. You can reach him at www.kevinoc.com or his email: [email protected].
