Communicating Up

Women are great at working together with colleagues. But how good are you at communicating with your managers?

By Amy C. Baker

You’ve seen them, heard them and watched them. They are comfortable around anyone. They can move through a crowded conference room or engage a meeting of high-level muckety-mucks with the credibility of an Ivy League MBA (regardless of where they went to school). What’s their secret? How can you get yourself noticed up the business food chain because of your stellar communication skills?

Here are some practical strategies to help you converse more effectively with decision-makers, senior leaders, board members and other important and influential individuals – inside or outside of your organization:

1. Learn from the pros you know. Who are the individuals you know who always seem to get selected to present at the quarterly meeting or local event? With a Rolodex full of business cards gleaned at networking events and business conferences, whom do you make a special point to reach out to? You’re not necessarily narrowing down your list by title or position, but rather identifying contacts with outstanding communication skills – both in front of a crowd and in an intimate meeting. In fact, if an individual has not yet been graced with a fancy title and she’s still asked to present to the top echelon of decision-makers, that says even more.

Ask the best communicators you know to coffee or lunch. Tell them you have noticed how well they speak in important meetings and that you’d like to learn from their expertise. Ask how they prepare for critical presentations. Do they have an outline they always use or questions they always ask themselves as they get ready to speak? How do they make notes and structure their presentation – or do they speak off the cuff? What do they do to combat nervousness or insecurity? And what about individual meetings with influencers? How do these successful communicators prepare to build relationships with their superiors and get their point across? What kind of “pre-work” do they do before an important business meeting? What have they learned from countless meetings with the influential and the important?

And learn from others’ mistakes. In upcoming meetings, try to really observe the dynamics happening within a meeting. Is there someone who repeatedly gets cut off mid-sentence, or whose ideas typically get shot down more often than those of co-workers? Where did she go wrong? Was the topic relevant? Did she say it with conviction and confidence? What did she do that you should avoid doing?

2. Do your homework. Before meeting a critical decision-maker for the first time, find out key facts about this individual – family, university affiliation, where they grew up. Knowing something about a person’s background can help you make effective small talk and build a rapport. Consider what you might have in common with this individual. Did you go to the same college, or does her kid play soccer just like yours?

Don’t limit research to your boss’s boss’s résumé – or your top client’s bio. Also be up to date on the business. Presenting to top management is a prime opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the business’ key strategies. Review the corporate mandates for the fiscal year as you prepare your talk. Know the current corporate lingo and issues that are raising the hackles of the senior team. Is it recruiting and retention? Fiscal responsibility? Expanding into international markets? Managing the economic slowdown? Focus your research on the whole company, not just the segment you’re involved or interested in, to show that you’re not a one-dimensional employee with a narrow view of the business but one who knows the market, your competition and the crucial issues at hand.

3. Know how top managers like to communicate. Most people like to get information in two basic ways. You either give the answer first, then explain it, or you thoroughly lay out the case and situation, then give the answer. Figure out if the higher-ups you communicate with are “bottom line” and “get to the point” kinds of folks, or do they like to hear all the details first? Ensure your presentation is not just relevant, but also structured so that it fits the communication culture.

Get comfortable with the words, phrases and locale at the top, especially if it is different from what you are used to. Are employees called associates or partners? Are subordinates referred to as direct reports? Do they use the term customers or clients? Show your presentation to a co-worker or associate familiar with the group you’re presenting to. Review your presentation or key points with her, and ask her to help you think through the kinds of questions that might come up during the meeting.

4. Anticipate questions. Ask yourself, If I were on the other side of this conversation, what questions might I have – and make sure you have this information beforehand. Practice your speech with team members who’ve presented before this individual or group before, or those you’ve identified as key communicators, and ask to come up with questions for you. If you don’t know the answer to a question when the time comes, be honest and say so. Tell them you’ll get back to them by the end of the day or week with the requested information, and avoid the tendency to stutter, stammer, make something up and apologize profusely. Create confidence in your audience that you will follow up and then move on.

5. Ask for feedback. You may have walked out the door thinking you knew how it went, but ask for feedback, and get it straight from someone who was there. Not only does this help you prepare for future presentations or meetings, but it also shows your superiors that you’re interested in self-improvement.

Amy C. Baker is a professional speaker and consultant. She is the author of Succeed at Work Without Sidetracking Your Faith – 7 Lessons of Career Excellence for Women and Slow Dancing at Death’s Door, a book for those with aging parents.