HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations (HBR Guide Series)

When asked, “What’s your presentation about?” most people answer with a phrase like “Software updates.” That’s not a big idea; it’s a topic—no point of view, no stakes. Change it to “Your department needs to update its workflow management software,” and you’re getting closer. You’ve added your point of view, but the stakes still aren’t clear. So tr

How can you solve their problems? How are you going to make their lives better? Point to benefits you know they’ll care about. What do you want them to do? What’s their part in your plan? Make sure there’s a clear action for your audience to take. (See “Build an Effective Call to Action” in the Message section of this guide.) How might they resist?

Pick the one type of person in the room with the most influence, and write your presentation as if just to that subgroup.

Executive team member Qualities Bert, CEO Hierarchical, micromanager, dominant, fear-driven, needs to be liked Carol, president of Consumer division Visionary, creative, disruptive, scattered, wants to stand on own feet Trent, president of Enterprise division Entrepreneurial, design thinker, systematic, found self after near-death experience Martin

“forgive a stumble, an ‘um,’ or a section where you backtrack as long as they know that your heart is in the right place.”

But how do you resonate deeply enough to move them toward your objective? Figure out where you have common ground, and communicate on that frequency.

If you tap into an object’s natural rate of vibration, or resonant frequency, it will move: It may vibrate, shudder, or even play a sympathetic musical note—think tuning forks. The same is true, metaphorically, when you present to an audience. If you tap into the group’s resonant frequency, you can move the people listening to you.

What are they like? Think through a day in their lives. Describe what that looks like so they’ll know you “get” them. Why are they here? What do they think they’re going to get out of this presentation? Are they willing participants or mandatory attendees? Highlight what’s in it for them. What keeps them up at night? Everyone has a fear, a pain poi

Present Clearly and Concisely to Senior Executives Senior executives are a tough segment to reach. They usually have very little time in their schedules to give you. Though that’s true of many audiences, what sets this crowd apart is that they need to make huge decisions based on accurate information delivered quickly. Long presentations with a big