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We worked
recently with the human resources director of a large
high-tech company as he prepared for an important 10-minute
presentation to his company’s board of directors.
Our coach
asked, “What does the board want to hear from you?”
“Well,” he
said. “They’ve actually asked for a very narrow discussion
of a diversity issue. But I thought I’d take this
opportunity to give a more complete overview of everything
we’re doing in the area.”
Whooaaaaa! That’s trouble. If you want to connect with a
board of directors, usually the best policy is to listen for
what they want and address that issue alone. Trying to
force-feed them something they haven’t asked for, runs the
risk of alienating a time-strapped audience.
Board
presentations are almost always short. And if the board
expects something specific, use your time to satisfy the
expressed need. Otherwise you risk giving too little
attention to the topic the board is most interested in.
That’s not
to say that you shouldn’t be prepared to speak about other
issues that the board might bring up. But don’t go there
unless the board asks.
At
Speechworks we help our clients learn how to communicate in
a way that connects and persuades. If you’re interested in
becoming a great communicator give us a call at 404-266-0888
or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net |
