Comfortable Is Not the Same as Effective

There are a few reasons executives don’t invest time in polishing their presentation skills.

  1. Complacency: Some think they’re good presenters because they aren’t nervous – they equate their comfort with effectiveness, so they don’t put the time in to improve their skills.
  2. Dread: Others hate to present, so they avoid preparing for or rehearsing the presentation; they just wing it.
  3. Not a high priority: For all leaders, carving out hours to prepare for a presentation is nearly impossible; it often gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list.

Don’t underestimate the importance of your presentations. 

  • If you’re an executive, employees are judging you based on your message, your skill as a presenter and the image you project.
  • If you are an up-and-coming leader, executives will consider your presentation skills as they evaluate your leadership potential.

One of Anne’s clients, a CIO in a Fortune 500 company relayed this story.  “A member of the executive committee came up to me after a recent presentation and told me that he could tell that I was doing a great job in my new role.  Honestly, he has no idea what my day-to-day work is like, but he made an evaluation of my abilities and job performance based on my presentation skills.”

Take a look at a video of one of your recent presentations.  Do you have a strong leadership persona?  Do your key messages pop out?  Do you look comfortable and in control?  Are you concise?  If the answer is no, invest the time in improving your presentation skills and image.  A small percentage of people are naturally gifted speakers; the rest of us have to work at it.