May 4, 2026
Every time you present to an executive, they’re putting you into one of two buckets:
If you open with an agenda or a bit of context, well, you are already in the wrong bucket. They’ll start checking their phones and they will stop listening.
The difference between the two buckets isn’t your data or your slides, it’s how you tell the story.
And it comes down to five simple steps.
Let me show you two ways to open the same meeting. Now, you tell me which bucket each one lands in.
Version A:
“Hi everyone. Today I’m going over our Q3 road map, walk you through the market analysis, and explain the strategy.”
Version B:
“Now, today you’ll find out how to grow revenue by 5% with two strategic changes.”
Same meeting, same information. Which one makes you lean in?
Version B, exactly. Now, version A is just a checklist. It tells people what you’re going to do, but not really what they are going to get.
Really, nobody gets excited about a road map. Version B is a big promise. It leads with a prize.
So, tell your listeners what is in it for them. What will they gain from listening to you?
Here are some examples:
“By the end of this, you’ll know how to cut decision time in half with one simple change.”
Or
“In the next 10 minutes, you’ll find out how to improve forecasting accuracy by 15%.”
Now, when you say something like that, you’ll stand out big time.
Once you’ve told them what’s in it for them, it’s time to go into the next step.
London, last year. I was running this workshop for a tech company, when I asked a woman to come up and start her presentation.
First slide, analysis methodology.
Second slide, step-by-step approach.
Third slide, limitations of the study.
I glanced at my watch and I was like, “Oof. 3 minutes in and she’s still on the context, giving us background information.”
I looked around the room. One guy is staring at the ceiling, another woman has her phone in her hand, everybody’s checked out.
So, I stopped her and I said, “If you had to pick the single most impressive thing about your research or your approach, what would it be?”
In the moment, she thinks about a second and then she says,
“Well, we spent 6 weeks analyzing data from 180,000 customer interviews.”
When I heard this, I was like, “Whoa, that’s so impressive,” right?
That’s the entire context you need to give. Like everything else, the methodology, the limitations, the step-by-step approach, goes to the appendix.
If someone wants to hear it, well, then you can pull it up, but otherwise, put it into the appendix.
At first she was nervous about it. But then she tried it and it was so much better. So, for your presentation, ask yourself:
And then share that to make them trust your recommendation even more.
Let me give you some examples.
“Over the last 3 weeks, we analyzed 30,000 transactions to find out exactly where customers drop.”
Or
“I interviewed 8 of the top 10 industry experts to land on this recommendation.”
That’s it. One or two sentences that show you’ve done the work.
Now, they’re ready to hear what you found.
Imagine walking into an airport duty-free shop. There, the salesperson comes up and sprays a perfume on your left arm.
At first, you’re like, “Whoa, that’s awesome. I love perfume.”
But then she sprays something on your right arm. 10 perfumes in 10 seconds.
Technically, she’s doing her job. You smell something, but you’re like, “Get me out of here,” right? And you’re just rushing towards the exit.
This is how most people talk to their bosses. They spray and pray.
They throw every detail and every thought out there, hoping that something sticks.
That’s not a future leader. That’s support staff. Over-explaining is under-deciding. Clarity isn’t about saying more. Clarity is about choosing what matters the most.
Now, in this step, you share the main findings of your project or your analysis. Not 15, not 10, but three to five main findings.
And I know we’re often tempted to share everything, but for this, focus on less.
To make those findings stick, you need two things. And when you share those findings, make sure that each finding can be shared in one a simple sentence and then some evidence to back it up.
So, maybe you want to share a story or maybe you want to share some statistic that really brings that finding to life.
Now, this is the moment everything else was building towards.
Not the data, not the context, not the findings. This is where you tell them what you recommend.
Now, here’s what that sounds like in the two buckets.
Support staff:
“So, we have a few options here we could consider and well, there are pros and cons for each approach and ultimately, I guess it depends a little bit on whatever you think is right.”
Future leader: “
Well, we recommend hiring two additional sales reps in Q1 to hit our annual revenue target.”
Same room, same data, completely different impression. Now, you can use a simple structure to give that recommendation. You can say, “I recommend [certain action] to achieve [the desired result].”
For example, “I recommend switching vendors to cut shipping times in half.”
But how do you know if your recommendation is actually strong enough? Well, run the so what test.
Before you walk in, look at your recommendation and ask yourself, “So what? Why should they care?”
Let’s say your recommendation is, “We recommend switching to a new vendor.” So what?
“Well, it will cut our shipping times in half.” Well, so what?
“Well, that reduces logistic costs by 20%, saving us 8 million per year.” Well, so what?
“Well, that frees up budget to reinvest in AI to help us to be the number one in the market.”
So, do the ‘so what’ to make sure that it’s relevant and big enough for your audience.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time for the final step.
This is the part that used to drive me crazy in my corporate life.
Now, I sat through hundreds and hundreds of meetings where people would talk and talk.
Sure, good energy in the room, interesting discussion, but then the meeting would just end and no decision, no owner, no plan, just some vague sense of what might happen eventually.
That drives executives absolutely insane and it’s the fastest ways to get placed into the wrong bucket.
Now, here’s what the two buckets could look like at the end of each meeting.
Support staff:
“So, yeah, great discussion everyone. Any questions? Nope. All right, cool. I’ll send you a follow-up email with some thoughts, okay?”
Future leader:
“Now, if you agree, I’ll send the contract to legal by 5:00 p.m. today. We’ll have their feedback by Thursday and can then move forward from there.”
Now, one of those people is getting promoted and you know who it is.
Every next step needs three things: an action, an owner, and a due date.
Not, “We should potentially look into the vendor transition.” That’s not a step, that’s a thought.
Instead, say, “I will send the contract to legal by 5:00 p.m. today for their review.”
Or, “I’m scheduling a 30-minute call with the tech team this Tuesday to lock in the timeline. Does that work for you?”
See what’s happening here? You’re making it effortless for them to say yes. You’ve already done the thinking. You’ve already mapped out the move.
All they have to do is nod and say yes and they’ll love you for doing that.
P.S. Want to become a stronger communicator?
Here are two ways I can support you:
👉 Want to tell more engaging stories? Join our next Storytelling Workshop.
👉 Want to speak with confidence and clarity? Check out our Communication Skills Training.
Both are fun, practical, and designed to help you grow fast.
Are you ready to transform your storytelling skills?
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