I remember sitting in my living room one Sunday afternoon in 1999 watching the dramatic conclusion of the British Open. The French have never been known as a powerhouse of golfing talent but on this day Jean Van de Velde was standing on the 18th tee box with a comfortable 3-shot lead. No heroic shots required to win – just a “keep it in the fairway” approach was all it would have taken. Even a rather pathetic double-bogey 6 would have been enough to win.
But to everyone’s surprise, he pulled out a driver. A driver! It may not be uncommon for us mere amateurs to want to “school boy” an impressive smash to impress those in our grouping, but we expect pros to have a bit more common sense – a simple 5 iron would have been enough. But Van de Velde was not solely responsible for the decision. His caddie should have been the voice of reason but abdicated his role. After all, he had a several shot buffer to play with!
Long story – short, between an errant shot into the high grass, a shot bounced off the grand stands into the nearby water and a poor putting effort, he scored a triple bogey 7 and lost by one shot. The crowd was stunned. His playing partners were stunned. And the millions of TV viewers were incredulous.
Where’s the life lesson in all of this mess? Simple. Executive-level presenters often get distracted and can make some pretty bad choices in how they communicate critical messages to others. They can become over reliant on letting their PowerPoint do the heavy lifting of an important message. They can get so message focused they forget that the art of presenting is a relational skill not a technical one. And if those things haven’t managed to derail the big opportunity yet, they can also totally forget about what their audience desperately needs from them on that important day.
Here are three important reasons executives need presentation coaches.
1) They need a truth teller in their lives – Too often those around senior managers pull their punches and provide only vague feedback if any at all. When an executive has some obvious presentation challenges (and many do), they desperately need someone to tell them the truth.
“86% of business professionals think they are effective communicators.
Only 16% of their audiences agreed!” The Leader’s Voice
2) Executives Need Some Solid Basis for Skill Examination – If I asked a casual golfer to give me some feedback on my swing, most would say… “Looks pretty good to me!”. That’s why we seek out professional coaches. At this point, you shouldn’t be looking for a business-card coach but someone who has proven experience with executives at their specific level and can provide meaningful insight.
3) Executives Need to Look Beyond the Immediate – Most executives think of personal coaching in the presentation skills area when they are a week away from a major speaking opportunity. At that moment the stakes are crystal clear and the pressure is on deliver. But once beyond the event, the vast majority forget what was so important to them a week before and get lost in the tyranny of the urgent. And for them, the cycle will continue year after painful year and they rarely improve because the skills to communicate meaningful, personal, credible and authentic messages are too quickly forgotten.
Recently I attended an international conference where one of the keynote presenters mentioned that he and his team received “coaching” several times a year? His skills? Not great. He paced like a caged tiger on uppers and his eye contact sprayed the room like a fire house. If it weren’t for his energy level, he would have been just another very forgettable keynote.
If your executives don’t have a “caddie” they can trust – they desperately need one. If they don’t have someone who can challenge them on some personal communication style issues and know how to turn them around – they will be missing an important part of being a leader today.
As Van de Velde’s playing partner in the 1999 British Open said later, “I was feeling for him coming up to the 18th green. He had thrown away the tournament.” Don’t be that guy. Don’t be that executive people pat on their back as they come off the stage and then roll their eyes as they walk back to their office.
