Read Time: 6 Minutes 

TL;DR:

1. Executive presence is the ability to get executives to feel the way you want them to feel after any interaction with them
2. You need executive presence in order to rise up the ranks in your corporate career
3. Executive presence is not one-size-fits-all. You need to understand how each executive prefers to communicate in order to have the influence you want
4. Tactics you should keep in mind: 1) Note down the exec’s primary interests, 2) adapt to their preferred communication style, and 3) keep it simple 

People have been asking me recently, “What is executive presence? My manager gave me feedback that I need more of this in order to accelerate my career growth and eventually become a leader in my company.”

Some people believe executive presence is a bunch of BS — check out these comments below on a video about executive presence that I recently posted:

Personally, I don’t disagree that executive presence can lead to these negative outcomes. However, when you’re thoughtful about it, it can dramatically affect your career trajectory in a positive way.

Here’s my definition of executive presence.

Executive presence is the ability to get executives to feel the way you want them to feel after any interaction with them.

The reality is that you need your executive to feel confident in a new initiative you’re proposing. You need them to believe in your research. You need them to believe in you.

By no means am I an expert on executive presence, but it’s a topic I’ve been thinking about for the past ~2 years. I once started a software company that helped managers improve their presentation skills for executive-level audiences. Several friends from business school have received feedback that they need to develop executive presence in order to position themselves for promotions. I myself have received this feedback in various roles at companies I’ve worked at.

After talking with dozens of HR professionals, leadership coaches, and managers, and putting some of these tips to practice myself, I’ve arrived at three keys to building up your executive presence.

Understand your executive’s primary interests

The key point here is that executive presence is not one-size-fits-all. You need to understand each executive’s primary interests and tailor your message to meet them.

Oftentimes, an executive’s interests are aligned with their function.

It seems obvious, but an SVP of Growth will likely favor business decisions that widen top-of-funnel user acquisition at lower costs.

A Head of Sales will likely care about meeting quarterly goals, strengthening relationships with strategic customers, and potential revenue cannibalization.

A Chief Product Officer may want to accelerate engagement and virality metrics while finding ways to hire the best R&D talent.

But the best way to understand your exec’s primary interests is simple: ask them.

It’s hard enough to get 1:1 time with your exec, so you may need to ask their direct reports or others on their team. A few good questions to ask:

• “What keeps you up at night related to work?” 
• “What are core projects that take up most of your mindshare? I’d love to better understand this so that I can align my work more closely to these priorities.”

Most people dive straight into presenting to execs as though it’s a one-way pitch. But to capture their attention, I’d recommend that you:

• State your core message in ~45 seconds or less
• Quickly call out execs by name to ask if they have any top-of-mind questions or concerns that you should address upfront.

I’ve found this method helps to quickly gauge how executives are viewing your presentation, and ultimately be more persuasive by tailoring your message to meet their interests.

Adapt to your executive’s preferred communication style

Again, the key point here is that there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to communicating with executives.

It comes down to two things: understand 1) their preferred communication channel and 2) their preferred way of thinking.

On “channel”: Some think visually and need slides with little text and lots of diagrams. Some prefer digging into financial models in spreadsheets with logical assumptions clearly outlined. Others want context and all possible options laid out in a word document that allows the team to more easily collaborate and share feedback. I’ve even seen some executives prefer to kick off group brainstorms on digital whiteboards in order to reach a consensus.

Quite often, executives are too busy to spend extended time with you, so you need to craft messages clearly and concisely over email or Slack (more on this later).

Remember that an executive’s preferred method of communication should NOT dictate how you deliver your message 100% of the time. Depending on the type of project and the other stakeholders involved, how you deliver your message will vary. However, if you’re prioritizing getting executive buy-in, communicating via their preferred channel is a great initial frame of reference.

On “way of thinking”: It’s hard to instill confidence if you’re communicating in a language that doesn’t resonate or is too difficult for the executive to understand.

For example, some executives have a strong affinity for data-driven decision-making, so leading with an impactful statistic would go a long way.

Some prefer thinking in frameworks, so walking them through a framework that they understand applied to your proposal will help get buy-in more easily.

Some care a lot about maintaining strong relationships with cross-department stakeholders, so illustrating how each piece of your proposal would affect each department would elicit more confidence.

Some prefer to come into meetings feeling prepared, so send them pre-read materials and let them fire off with questions when the meeting starts. Others like to wing it and want you to spoon-feed the content to them.

It takes time to 1) understand each executive’s communication style and 2) adapt to each person’s communication style. However, there are two things you can do to expedite the learning curve, particularly when you’re stepping into a new role.

1. Ask their direct reports. It’s really helpful to set up 1:1 time with an executive’s direct reports and ask for their advice on how to craft persuasive messages and build trust with their bosses. You don’t need to discuss every executive early on, but if you anticipate needing to persuade an executive for a particular project, this is a very appropriate ask.
2. Observe how the executive communicates in group meetings. Are their meetings filled with slides and clearly outlined agendas? Do they like telling backstories to have their messages resonate more? Do they invite other executives to present alongside them? Closely observe how your executive prefers to prepare and present in both small and large groups. Being intentional about matching their style when interacting with them is a great way to stand out.

KISS — Keep It Simple, Stupid

The common misperception is that the more senior your audience, the more impressive you want to sound — thus, the more details and research you should share.

But the reality is that executives are almost always low on time. They have dozens, if not hundreds of company-level decisions they need to make each day, and you’re likely not high on their list (particularly if you’re more junior in your career). They’re constantly context-switching between meetings.

Consequently, you need to design your message such that 1) they’re up to speed and 2) understand your ask in less than 60 seconds, depending on the medium.

In a slide deck, for example, it helps to have an executive summary in case your audience doesn’t have time to go through everything. Via email, you’ll want to orient your executive around the ask, make the concrete ask, and provide supplemental context (if needed). I’ve found that it helps to bold your ask and bullet the context so it’s easier to read. Via Zoom calls, you’ll likely want to articulate desired outcomes for the meeting and provide context before walking them through your presentation.

Here are a few tips I’ve found helpful when it comes to interacting with executives in live meetings:

1. Call out the executive by name when asking for their input. Sometimes, asking questions without specifying who should answer can lead to awkward silences because people don’t know whether they should respond — and that includes your executives. Keep your question simple, and invite them to share their POV.
2. Ask your executive how much they’re aware of the topic you’re about to cover before beginning your presentation. You need to meet your audience where they are. This will help you 1) know how much additional context you need to provide, and 2) create a more interactive and engaging atmosphere.
3. Let your audience air out their questions and concerns upfront. By addressing this upfront, you’ll effectively disarm them when it comes time to present your argument.
4. Prepare your manager or colleagues to chime in as needed. Before the meeting, it helps to designate presenter roles. For example, while you facilitate the conversation, give your manager the opportunity to add color. This can boost your credibility and persuasiveness.

It’s so easy to get mired in the details of your own projects, but you need to keep your audience in mind. What’s the 1000-foot view? How would my audience view this? Sometimes, it helps to ask a colleague with hardly any context on your project to provide their take on what’s most important to them, and then tailor the core message for executives.

Final Thoughts

Executive presence is entirely dependent on your audience. You may have “it” with one executive but not with another. You can learn best practices for persuasion and influence, but no individual course will help you master executive presence unless it’s either taught by the executive you’re interacting with, or the instructor deeply knows how the executive prefers to communicate.

If you found this helpful, the Impromptu Speakers Academy is my 3-week bootcamp to help you become a clear and confident speaker at work. Reserve your spot today while they're still available.

Preston