5 Rules for Communicating Effectively with Executives

I am a retired executive. In my mind, the most important element has to be … be succinct. Most executives got to where they are because they are quick in grasping new concepts. They are not shy about asking you to delve into details on the parts they don’t understand. But if you are too verbose, you’ll lose their interest. Remember, your goal is to get them to buy in. The biggest mistake is to consciously trying to impress them. Do you know how many people they talk to do that? Would you not get turned off if you were in their shoes? I wouldn’t lose too much sleep on projecting confidence. Executives are used to talking to people who are intimidated by their position and often intentionally try to put them at ease. If you are worrying about your image, it may actually detract you from presenting your idea. Remember, executives had been in your position. They know exactly how you feel. They are talking to you because they want to hear what you have to say.

I'm a retired tech exec. To get there, my biggest "secret" was to understand what problem they had, that they wanted me to fix and why (time, cost cutting, decisions....) I did not fall back on my middle degree as a computer engineer to explain things, but rather I talked to them like I would a respected friend. That means I explained things, not in technical terms, but in unbiased terms of their (business) needs. How choice A would save them time/money/people over the other choices. They knew they could bet their careers on the information I game them. THAT'S a huge part of becoming part of the management team.

Be bright, be brief, be gone. Use that mindset and you'll be fine😊

I remember one of my early jobs as a techy. I was asked to come to the CEOs office to explain some things to him. I wasn't in trouble. But it was unexpected. I forget the topic. But he asked me to explain something to him. As a young techy, I immediately went into my explanation and quickly went into minutiae. I remember him stopping me and saying, "I don't need all the details. Just explain it at a high level in a few sentences." Lesson learned. So, I can say from experience that you are right, minutiae is not what a CEO wants.

1. Escape the minutia 2. Exude unshakable confidence 3. Execute rainmaking communication 4. Elongate your timeframe 5. Increase business acumen

1. Shift from a mentality of inputs, throughputs and outputs to one of outcomes 2. Shift from a departmental perspective to a company perspective 3. Be excellent at being concise

Best when talking to executive is 1) be clear and succinct 2) be yourself and don’t ever BS 3) be confident about what you know and don’t know and 4) show ownership and be action able if an opportunity comes up during the discussion 5) ask relevant questions and 6) never waste their time so be prepared

things i learned the hard way when communicating with executives: - you'll often be ignored - keep it short and simple if you want their attention - dont mix work with feelings if you want to be taken seriously - get to the point - have a resolution plan if you want a better response from them - dont come to them to solve your problems

I am a retired 60 yr old exec. I started, wholly owned, operated, grew, and sold two multimillion-dollar companies in Calif. One was a global company. While I appreciate this presentation, I can tell you from first-hand experience at a very high level that this some of these points are not entirely correct. Rule number 1; The minutiae. Don't escape it, but rather know when it is important and when it is not. If you approached me, and I had the sense that you didn't know the details, then I doubted your analysis and presentation. But I also appreciated someone that could know when it was important and when it wasn't. Rule number 2; Confidence, spot on, but be careful not to be arrogant or so set in your opinion or presentation that you are unmovable. Confidence can be a fine line. Rule number 3; I've NEVER heard the term "rainmaking conversations", I suggest you toss that term. It is an unnecessary phrase that makes no practical sense. Use plain terminology. But the content of the presentation in number 3 is correct overall. Rule number 4 is spot on, but as an exec, I want to know that you are thinking in terms of plan long operate short. In other words, all time frames play into the whole. I want to see you taking them all into account as they relate to each other. If you don't, then I am going to judge you as missing something. Rule number 5, is spot on.

The "confidence" part was easy. The hardest part was resisting the urge to tell them how stupid they are. They eventually figured it out when they bankrupted the company.

#6 Don't bring them problems to solve if you don't also already have a proposal to solve or are already in the process of solving. I learned this the first time I worked directly for a CEO. When I came to him to vent about a problem, or present a problem without a suggested solution he would just answer "That's a toughie. What are you going to do about it?"

This is awesome advice. What I really appreciate is that each idea you share has depth to it. I've been on a growth journey for a long time and still find your videos refreshing and thought provoking. Thank you.

Very accurate, and I couldn't agree more with the high level, to the point, communication. I'd also like to add that you need to know when they want you to be casual so they can get to know you more. It's definitely not easy.

#8 give them the cold hard facts. No fluff. I had an executive of a Fortune 100 say to me "give it to me straight are we fu*ked?" Then hit me with a pardon my French but I just want it straight. The truth was they were in a critical downward trajectory and I was tasked with bringing forth the resolve. Roller coaster for sure, but the solution was an immensely beneficial resolve. I appreciated the honesty of his asking the blow not be softened.

I am now retired but in my experience dealing with executives I just told them what they needed to do and then they did it. No big mystery.

New subscriber here! Happy to have "stumbled" on this video and thanks for the valuable insights. My takeaway is "having an unshakable confidence". I live and do business in Germany and you better have confidence and be confident on what you are saying (by knowing your topic/subject etc...) while talking to executives. From my own experience, I would add the followings: 1) Be prepared: do your homework, research, come with facts to backup your arguments (we love facts in Germany) 2) Be concised: don't waste their time nor yours. Time for them is life not only money. 3) Be your authentic self. Don't try to impress anyone. 4) Be humble and ready to learn from them as well. 5) Offer concrete solutions to the problem/issue being discussed. 6) Be at ease with answering hard questions. Wishing you all much success!

The question is however what "unshakable confidence" looks like. I have done a good deal of teaching and prestations, and the more confident i am, the more calm i am about becoming nervous from time to time. Having a litte nervousness can be fine, as long as you know your presentation and your material. Being at a high stakes postion, which can be stressful, seeing someone calm in themselves and being open about their nervousness i find to be a good thing.

Thank you very much for this! These points are really helpful!

#5 resonates with me now. I am getting close to the executive position but I realize that my current plan has me reaching that goal somewhere in the next 5-10 years as I accumulate connections and diversify my experiences in my industry.

Good video! As a new manager I have struggled with escaping the minutia and understanding their time frame. Definitely things to work on.