5 Mistakes People Make When Talking With Executives

Generally, you want to be clear, concise, and project a confident and action-oriented aura. For example, rather than saying, “I wonder if…” say “I see it this way, based on X, Y, Z.” When communicating with more senior audiences, ask yourself: If they leave after two minutes, what do I want to make sure they understand? Structure your communication

Always frame an executive discussion so that you structure and present information in a way that effectively engages and aligns with the needs and interests of your executive audience. And we talked about eight elements of framing to accomplish this.

Number one, clearly define the objective.

Number two, start with the big picture.

Number three, identi

To determine how you can best tailor your message to your audience, it’s key to understand whether cost or speed is the main driver for your organization. If available, the company’s annual report can help you identify which is the main driver. I personally invested a lot of time in lunch discussions with people like the CFO, CTO, CIO, CEO, and CMO

Don’t waste your executive leadership team’s time. They usually want to know if you need them to act, so don’t be shy—include a call to action. In my experience, you will be more successful if you have built a trusted relationship and keep cybersecurity simple and understandable for them.