Page 134 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

HOW TO MAKE A POWERFUL DECK PRESENTATION 125

a dozen pages scattered throughout the Whopper that help seal
the deal.
Now comes the critical moment when she turns a portion of the
pitch over to a partner or subordinate. That person may be charged

with, say, fleshing out the financials. But instead of, “Now I would
like to turn the presentation over to . . . ,” she simply stops talking.
Seamlessly, the next speaker jumps right in. This little bit of
stagecraft is important because it gives the hosts the perception that
the lead and her associates really are a team. They seem to think as
one mind and speak as one voice.
“The next step is to support that business model [that Mary’s
been talking about] with a strong balance sheet and cash fl ow,” the
CFO suddenly chimes in, and now all eyes are on him. But Mary,
for her part, stays attentive. She does not look down nor appear to
be distracted. She continues to make eye contact around the table
and glances often at her CFO. He may run with the ball for a few
minutes, as long as it takes to position the financials along the lines

of Mary’s theme so that everything is lined up and going in the same
direction. Every graph and chart makes the story ever stronger, and
the theme—let’s say the game-changing importance of a particular
global strategy—resonates in the evidence he presents.
When he winds up his portion, he throws in a line that holds to
the theme and gives him a robust exit, as in, “So as you can see, we
are putting every penny, every dime to work to secure a market
foothold in India and China by the end of the year.” Then he makes
a point of closing the book. Mary does too.
Not missing a beat, Mary now picks it up for a drive to the fi nish
with something like, “So it all comes down to this . . .” She delivers
a strong ending, and depending on whether she senses the energy in

the room is right, she might toss out a final line: “What do you
think?”
The response could be that they need time to discuss the pro-
posal among themselves or it might lead to a fertile Q&A period and
the possibility of closing the deal right then and there.