Getting your message across is one of the core needs of leadership and ratchets up every level you grow through. Your organization needs you to be confident and competent. Your own future demands it as well.
As a leader, getting a plan or proposal communicated well is a little bit of sales, a lot of prep, and a whole lot of savvy.
This is my cheat sheet.
Sale
First, find a clear way to give the current and future state and be concise in your delivery. This isn’t Everest you're climbing; don’t turn it into a mountain needlessly. It’s better if people leave feeling smarter than seeing them leave thinking you're smarter. Look for ways to get them talking and you listening.
Prep
Do your prep work.
Ready?
Good, prep more. Anticipate questions. Preparation breeds confidence. Be comfortable with questions you can’t answer but keep your gaps to a minimum. If they come up, promise to find out and follow up, then deliver. If you don’t, the reputation of poor communication and inconsistency will follow you and stalk you in the night.
Turn your eyes on yourself and watch how people might perceive you.
Cut the silence-filling um, er, oh noises. I know that the gap in sound feels terribly long. It isn’t. Don’t fill it to fill it. Be comfortable with the silence as you find the word; it’s not as long as it feels.
Now, be a ninja master at reading the room – not just of them but of yourself. Read up on nonverbal communication and watch for lack of engagement, trust, or disagreement. Train your emotional intelligence and learn how to read a room. While you are at it, watch yourself and be mindful of what you are putting out there on all fronts.
Savvy
OK, now that the basics are behind us, it’s time for the real ninja moves. Make sure your presentation or pitch naturally draws people into the conversation.
You want that.
If the only sound in the room or the video conference is your own voice, you didn’t do it right. Once they’re talking, get them to dream with you.
But how?
Make the vision simple and invite them to vision with you. Practice active listening and don’t listen to respond. Remember all that prep you did? This is where it kicks in. You can now actively listen and still be able to respond because you prepared.
Summary
Getting it right also comes with tones of understanding your company, its goals, its culture. Overall, every group is looking for the brief but well-delivered pitch backed by excellent prep and spoken savvily.
Now, all you have to do is deliver on everything you just said. Remember, a reputation of inconsistency will follow you, so once you get the pitch approved, the next step is making the plan grow into a reality. Potential only counts for so long.