When I work with engineers and technical experts on presentation skills and planning what they want to say to a group of business stakeholders from outside of R&D, I am always struck by how many people lead with detail.
A lot of detail. With no pre-amble.
It often feels as if the presentation (with or without slides) is the continuation of a long-running conversation that the presenter has been having over the years.
In fairness, the conversation probably exists: in the head of the researcher or technical specialist. They are knee-deep in details, and they work with their ideas on a daily basis, so it’s logical to pick up from wherever they are.
For folks in other business units, however, the work that researchers are doing is only one input that they receive. They’re thinking about sales, marketing, production, managing the cleanroom, budgets, people, looming deadlines, and their day to day work. On top of that, they’re human: other priorities edge into work-related thoughts. And let’s not even start with the distractions that surround us: pinging phones, being too hot or too cold, the tummy rumbling ahead of lunch…
What does this have to do with “leading with detail”?
Well, we can’t assume that an audience is sitting on the edge of their seat, paying 100% attention to us. And we can’t assume that they remember the precise context of our work, why it matters, and more specifically, why it matters enough for them to be in the room.
So the generous thing to do is to take a moment – literally 60-90 seconds – to remind people of the context. What is the big, hairy, audacious goal? What’s blocking that or raising questions? Why does this matter to the people in the room? And what’s the benefit for them – the audience – to listen to you?
In my experience, most technical experts are sceptical when I invite them to start with some “scene setting” and alignment. After a few practice and feedback rounds, however, most understand how this can add value. Especially when non-experts confirm that this is what they want and need.
So, tip for today: start technical presentations for non-experts by giving context and relevance.
(Bonus tip: it works rather well even when presenting to peers.)
