How to Present to Executives, by Inigo Montoya

By Kirsten Laaspere on  2020-10-14

Executives have too much on their plate and too little time to manage it, so when you are interacting with them, you need to be purposeful and succinct in order to gain and hold their limited attention. Amazingly, Inigo Montoya was the master of this.

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

Let’s break this down...

First, introduce yourself (Focus on who you are in relation to this audience. You don’t need to give your full resume; simplify to what is most relevant.) Next, demonstrate your purpose (Focus on how you are relevant to your audience, why should they be listening to you.) Finally, explain what you need. (Make sure they know what you are asking of them so they know where to focus their limited attention.)

Let’s see it in action...

Networking: Hello, my name is Kirsten Laaspere, head of Governance and Communications within the IT organization at Akamai. I have great respect for the work you’ve done for Women in Business. I was hoping you could spare a few minutes to speak with me about the top few things you look for in a candidate during an interview.

Introducing a Presentation: Hello, I am here today as program manager for Project Falcon. I will be presenting an update on our timeline, budget, and scope looking to get your approval to move into the implementation phase of the project lifecycle.

Sending an Email: Hello, I am reaching out to you as the program manager for Project Falcon. I have included below a link to the program launch blog post we are looking for you to send at the end of this month. Please review and share your comments before August 15 so we can finalize the draft in time for our launch.

It’s important to remember that Inigo also repeated his speech a number of times. This fits into the Tell, Show, Tell model. (Tell them what you’re going to show them; Show them; Tell them what you showed them.) The same applies with executive interactions: Introduce yourself and your purpose; Engage; Recap the original purpose.