Presenting to a Board · Perth, Western Australia
Presenting to a board coaching helps executives and managers present papers and proposals to boards and senior management with clarity and confidence. David Julian Price coaches in Perth and online on structure, the one-page summary, handling tough questions and getting a decision, drawing on decades of experience in and around boardrooms.
Board members are busy, experienced and allergic to waffle. The question isn’t whether you can present. It’s whether you can present to them.
“Boards aren’t there to be informed. They’re there to govern, decide and direct. Give them something to work with.”
David Julian Price CSP · Meetings and governance expert
This is not your average audience
Presenting to a board isn’t like presenting to anyone else. Walk in playing the wrong game and you’ll lose before you’ve said a word. Directors have sat through hundreds of presentations. They can smell uncertainty, padding and poor preparation from across the boardroom table.
The great irony of board presentations
It sounds back to front. Surely more information means more confidence in you? Not with boards. Drown the room in data, slides and background, and the board’s internal alarm goes off: what are they hiding? It’s not logical. But it’s human, and great board presenters know it.
The sweet spot is enough for the board to say yes. And not a slide more.
What a great board presentation is
ConciseEvery word earns its place
ClearThe point is obvious, fast
PurposefulIt arrives at a recommendation or decision
Global to specific
Frame your information from the top down. Lead with the big picture and the recommendation, then give supporting detail for anyone who wants to dig deeper. It’s one of the most powerful presentation skills you can develop.
The Presenting to a Board workshop
Built around the specific demands of the boardroom. It goes well beyond general presentation skills.
01
So you always know what to say, and in what order.
02
The board grasps your point quickly, without having to work for it.
03
PowerPoint that reinforces your message instead of competing with it.
04
When to use it, and when to get out of its way.
05
Logistics, positioning and eyeline, so the room works for you, not against you.
06
Because in the boardroom, length is a strategy, not an accident.
Why it’s worth it
They get trusted. They get offered opportunities other people don’t. After more than four decades working with executives, senior leaders and governance professionals, I know what separates the presenters boards remember from the ones they forget before the next agenda item.
First board presentation or your fiftieth, there’s always a level up available.
About David
David Julian Price has spent more than 40 years coaching presenters and working with boards. With qualifications in corporate governance and company directorship, and as an Independent Presiding Member of local government audit committees, he knows what directors are listening for.
Questions
Directors are time-poor, experienced and focused on decisions. They want the point and the recommendation up front, with detail available if they ask, not a long build-up.
Shorter than you think. Length is a strategy. The right duration depends on the decision you need, and the workshop shows you how to find the optimum length for your board.
Enough for the board to say yes, and not a slide more. Too much detail can make a board more suspicious, not more confident. Keep supporting information ready for questions.
Starting with the big picture and your recommendation, then moving to the supporting detail. It’s how senior audiences prefer to receive information.
Prepare for them, welcome them and answer briefly and directly. For questions you can’t predict, a simple structure for thinking on your feet makes all the difference. See Speaking Off the Cuff.
Both. Delivery is structured to suit you and your organisation, from one-to-one preparation for a specific board presentation to in-house workshops for executive teams.
David is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a Global Speaking Fellow and Past World President of the Global Speakers Federation, and a member of the Australian Speakers Hall of Fame. He brings more than 40 years of real-world experience, plenty of humour and practical ideas people can use straight away.
Ready to present with authority?
Tell me about your next board presentation and we’ll structure coaching around you and your organisation.