Many of you will be presenting your plans to the board very soon. To get what you want, know that the strongest predictor of who gets investment is not the credentials or the content. Research shows that the strongest predictors are the traits: confidence, comfort level and passionate enthusiasm.
If you would like to be coached to craft the message, build executive presence or confidence to get that plan through, do contact us. And if you are presenting now, have a look at the executive presence & presentation tips we post. They might get you over the line!
Harvard Professor Amy Cuddy reveals data from Lakshmi Balachandra in her Presence book. Balachandra investigated the way entrepreneurs made 185 pitches to potential venture capital investors and the way investors responded. It tells us a lot about how to win business budgets internally and with other investors.
The other interesting part of this research is that the investors distrusted ‘slick’ communicators and were looking for authenticity.
The clear message is that it’s important to focus as much time on your own ‘professional presence’ as on your content. But how many times do you find your teams pouring over the final slides at the last minute rather than working on how they communicate? It’s like going into bat with your hand tied behind your back.
The data may sound puzzling but it makes a great deal of sense. What the investors or your board are looking for is people who will deliver the plan. If the person looks like they don’t genuinely believe in the proposition or isn’t genuinely confident, why should the investor believe?
KineticFuture can coach you to be a world-class communicator and leader. Coaching 1-2-1 and in groups. Clients include Abbvie, Amgen, Gilead, GSK, Novartis, Mars, Pladis, WPP and Barclays. We have six main areas of work: Time to Think™ coaching, executive presence, presenting and storytelling, tricky conversations, resilience and communicating purpose.