The Persuasion Triad — Aristotle Still Teaches
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Executive communication is the skill of presenting ideas, insights, and recommendations in a way that’s clear, concise, and aligned with business goals.
When you can speak the language of leadership (results, impact, strategy) you stop being “just” a designer, developer, researcher, or marketer. You become someone executives listen to, trust, and rely on. In other words, executive communication is how you go from executing to influencing decisions.
Explore how you can use effective communication to open career doors you didn’t even know existed, in this video with Morgane Peng, Managing Director, Global Head of Product Design and AI Transformation.
Think about a time where you had to explain something or present to an authority figure. Were you asking for something? Or maybe you were explaining why you took a position about a matter? Do you remember how it felt to go before a senior executive? Maybe it was daunting; you were aware a great deal was riding on the outcome.
Executive communication is your toolkit for those moments. It’s how you explain your work, your thinking, and your value in a way that’s fast, clear, and business-minded, so senior stakeholders see the point and support your direction.
Senior or high leadership figures inhabit a world of results, populated by facts, figures, and bottom-line effects. Because of that, communicating with these people requires clarity, brevity, and influence. Unlike casual conversations, these are high-stakes moments where you may be asking for funding, presenting a strategic update, or making the case for a product change. Executives don’t have time for deep process detail; it’s not that they like throwing their weight around and want to act like mean judges. They’re under constant pressure to make fast, high-impact decisions. Given that, they want a clear view of what matters, why it matters, and what they should do about it.
For you, that means you’ll want to learn how to distill complexity into clarity. When you can translate design work or research into terms that connect to business strategy, you prove you’ve got what it takes as a strong executive presence. If your message is too long, too vague, or too technical, you’ll lose their attention. Strong executive communication ensures that your work gets noticed, your voice is heard, your image is professional and respected whatever happens, and your ideas shape decisions. It’s no wonder that communication consistently ranks as one of the top leadership skills executives look for in future leaders.
Imagine a senior business stakeholder who doesn’t know how to critique properly and lets their bad day get the better of them. What if they take it out on a UX (user experience) designer giving a presentation? One of the traits of a truly good leader is grace under fire, as the individuals above portray in this fictitious example.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
When you learn the audience’s “language,” you can get ideas across to them clearly and secure:
Executives appreciate people who respect their time and get where they’re coming from. So, when you start with the main point and frame it in business terms, you’ll get faster decisions. Instead of drawn-out debates and irritated business stakeholders wondering what they’ve just sat through, you leave with clear approvals and momentum. And this helps your projects move forward instead of stalling in “review mode.”
Communicating well at the leadership level builds your executive presence and that all-important ability to project confidence, clarity, and authority. Even if you’re early in your career, you’ll be seen as someone who’s capable of thinking strategically and leading discussions, not just executing tasks in your role in “Designerville.”
Clear executive communication forces you to tie your work back to business outcomes and show you’ve got the big picture in mind. This makes it easier for cross-functional teams, such as development or engineering, product, and marketing, to align behind a shared goal in no uncertain terms. When everyone hears the same crisp message, they understand where you’re all moving towards and collaboration strengthens.
When you’ve got the ability to translate complex work into business impact, it sets you apart and people of influence remember you. Leaders can see you bring clarity to the table and care enough to fly above your design “station.” This visibility can open doors to leadership opportunities, promotions, and invitations to high-stakes discussions where people in power make decisions.
Poor communication often leads to rework, delays, or wasted resources; “Oh, I thought you meant (to do this rather than that)!” doesn’t sound good in a post-mortem discussion after a design fail, either. Clear executive communication reduces these risks since it ensures decisions come from accurate, well-presented information. That makes you a more reliable, relatable, and valuable contributor, someone they’ll remember who doesn’t contribute to blunders or cause missed opportunities to slip by.
Executives value team members who don’t just surface problems but also propose solutions to them. They like sharp-minded, competent people who know their material and are on board with what’s good for the brand, not just themselves. When you present information in a way that highlights risks, opportunities, and recommendations, you earn trust. And because they know you go beyond just detecting and diagnosing and actually suggest ways to get out of difficulties, over time executives will turn to you for input on high-level decisions.
Discover a powerful way to help present UX design material and other ideas; present with a trust framework, in this video with Morgane Peng.
Above all, executive communication is not about talking more; it’s about saying the right things in the right way. Here’s how to do it well:
Stay a step ahead of the game by flipping perspectives to see things from an executive standpoint and asking, “Why should I care?” Executives don’t want a long build-up or stories that segue into sagas. Open with the outcome:
Don’t say: “We tested three prototypes across different user groups.” (They’ll wonder: “…And?”)
Instead, say: “User testing shows our current checkout flow loses 42% of customers. Fixing this could recover $2M in revenue.” (They’ll know, “Right, that’s important!”)
Begin with the impact and you’ll show you understand what matters most: business results.
In addition to trust frameworks such as the competency and warmth model and the giver-taker model, you’ve got several ways to frame your message best. When you structure and organize your message clearly, executives can more easily follow along and trust your reasoning. Here are some useful structures:
Share case studies or progress updates, where you might have a scenario like, for example, improving an e-commerce checkout flow:
Situation: “Our e-commerce site had a 63% cart abandonment rate during checkout. This was causing significant revenue loss.”
Task: “As the UX designer, I needed to identify pain points and propose design improvements that could increase completed purchases.”
Action: “I conducted feedback sessions, mapped the customer journey, and collaborated with developers. I simplified the form from seven steps to three, added progress indicators, and integrated trusted payment options.”
Result: Checkout abandonment dropped to 32%, revenue increased by 17%, and customer feedback highlighted the process as “simple and reassuring.”
STAR provides a clear, concise business story in a well-structured package. It’s perfect for job interviews, performance reviews, or stakeholder updates when you need to prove your impact.
You use storytelling arcs when you’re walking through user journeys or problem-solution narratives. However, as executives are time-poor and want the bottom line fast, it’s wise to combine this with Barbara Minto’s Pyramid. The Minto Pyramid Principle is about structuring ideas top-down where you start with the answer first (your main message or recommendation), support it with grouped arguments (usually three key reasons), and then provide evidence or data under each argument, such as facts, examples, or analysis. This creates a logical pyramid of: Key message → Supporting arguments → Evidence.
For example, start Minto-style:
“We need to redesign our onboarding because it’s confusing, it drives 40% drop-off, and we can fix it with X.”
Then, use Freytag as supporting storytelling:
Briefly walk them through a user’s journey: the frustration, the climax (drop-off), and the resolution (your solution). That way, you respect their time and make them care.
Always use the right framework to frame your message carefully so you keep it logical, concise, and persuasive.
Remember, executives think about outcomes like revenue, efficiency, risk, and customer satisfaction; they need exact answers framed succinctly. So, connect your insights to those goals. Don’t say, “We improved the design system.” Think ahead and imagine the “cog wheels” turning in their heads as they get ready to pounce with: “How?” or “By how much?” Instead, frame it as, “This system reduces design inconsistencies, saving 25% of development time and cutting costs.”
Get a greater understanding of what key performance indicators (KPIs) matter and why, in this video with Vitaly Friedman, Senior UX Consultant, European Parliament, and Creative Lead, Smashing Magazine.
Executives absorb information quickly; they have to and are used to it. So, use one slide per idea, minimal text, and clear visuals. Consider headlines that get the point across fast, not essays that try to grow long-winded tales out of an exposition. Functional and “blunt” it may seem, but it works when you do it well. Speak in short, direct sentences that highlight the essence of your point.
Numbers grab attention when they’re meaningful and stand out. So, pick one or two key metrics to prove your case. For example, “Reducing cart abandonment by 32% could save $3M annually.” Don’t put up walls of charts; you’ll waste time and lose your audience. Instead, summarize and then keep the backup data ready if they want it.
One part of talking to executives is knowing they will test your assumptions and being ready for questions and critiques. It’s natural and will happen in meetings. They’re not trying to catch you out to expose you as incompetent; they’re looking out for their business. Instead of fearing this, prepare for it by asking yourself their questions before they ask them, namely:
What risks might they raise?
What alternatives might they expect?
How does this affect the bottom line?
When you welcome questions, you show confidence and strengthen your credibility. It proves you’ve cared to think ahead and far beyond your silo as a “non-business person.”
Explore the gulf between how some business stakeholders think and how designers think, so you can ready yourself for some interesting questions or points, in this video with Morgane Peng.
Never leave executives guessing or wondering what to do now that you’ve put the “ball in their court.” Close with what you need from them: approval, budget, headcount, or next steps. As “presumptuous” as it might feel to go ahead and ask for needed resources, it’s far better than creating an uneasy silence that prompts someone to say, “And what do you want us to do about it?” So, for example, try this: “To meet our Q3 deadline, we need two additional developers approved this week.” When you show you know where they are on the map, you can land your message in the right place.
Speaking of maps, discover more about how to fine-tune messages to what interested executives (and not-so-interested ones) want to hear, in this video with Morgane Peng about stakeholder maps.
Now you know the process, help yourself practice it with some tips:
Check out good TED Talks, executive town halls, or even strong colleagues, and you can find approaches that inspire you.
Keep polished templates for common updates, such as ones for status, funding requests, and strategic proposals. Fine-tune them so they resonate with executives and note which ones work well.
If you can say it in 5 minutes, don’t take 10. These people won’t want the scenic route, and they’ll get out of the “vehicle” (or even ask you to stop it) if you stretch things beyond their tolerance levels.
Always ask, “Why should they care?” and adapt your message. Be ruthless with your presentation material and strip it back to a package they’ll want to handle and be able to digest without confusion.
Show your audience you’re in there with them and it’s not you going through a rehearsed spiel. You’ll need to keep your eyes and ears open and adapt in the moment to how the room responds. The payoff you get, though, can mean the difference between getting what you want and getting dismissed as a presenter who can’t relate to what’s important.
Discover how to use active listening to help get what you want, in this video with Morgane Peng.
Keep things tight and lean, but real user stories can make data more relatable. You just need to tailor them well so the purpose comes through. Here’s an example of a business storytelling structure in action:
Set the stage (the business context): “Last quarter, 42% of our online customers abandoned their carts before checkout. That was $2M in lost revenue.”
Show the struggle (the pain point or stakes): “Imagine being ready to buy, but you can’t see shipping costs until the final step. In our research, users told us that made them quit.”
Present the turning point (your design solution): “We simplified the checkout flow and added upfront cost transparency. Users now see shipping before they commit.”
Resolve with impact (the business outcome): “In pilot testing, cart abandonment dropped from 42% to 21%. If rolled out, that’s an additional $1M in revenue per quarter.”
Close with a call to action: “We recommend launching this redesign next quarter. With your approval, we can roll it out by July.”
Speak with authority, but stay open to input. Being humble isn’t being weak; it shows you are gently assertive and flexible and care about the points of view of others who care about your organization.
When you care enough to be open, you prove you’ve got the confidence in yourself and your convictions to listen to others. Stubbornness or defensiveness, meanwhile, can show a lack of maturity or cockiness, two ingredients which smart businesspeople dislike.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Even one practice run increases your confidence and can help you find points to reinforce, cut back, or insert so businesspeople can get on board with what you tell them. Rehearse with a colleague and ask them to summarize your message. If they can’t, it’s not clear enough. Or record yourself to check your pacing, clarity, and whether your delivery feels confident.
Executive presence isn’t just what you say; it’s how you say it. Your presentation style, pitch and pacing, non-verbal communication, how you dress, and how you stand or sit all come together to make an impression. Sure, you might be nervous (that’s natural for anyone), but you can try strategies like 4-7-8 breathing (4 seconds to inhale, 7 to hold, and 8 to exhale) for a minute to help calm down. And you can use the SOLER framework (Sit squarely, Open posture, Lean forward, Eye contact, Relax), but be careful as sustained eye contact can put people off or even offend them.
Get a greater grasp of how to position yourself for success in a presentation, in this video with Morgane Peng.
Overall, when you become skilled at leadership communication, you don’t just share information; you shape decisions. You may be a designer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t present yourself as an executive partner who brings clarity and direction, which is a hallmark of strong executive presence and the foundation for leadership roles. You can gain influence beyond your current role, earn a seat at the decision-making table, and get recognition as someone who can translate complexity into action.
Always remember, it’s not an “us versus them” situation where you should turn into someone you’re not just to get through one presentation. You can be your authentic self who adjusts and casts the message to their mindset and expectations. They may have the power, but that includes the duty of care to the organization, including for your role and what you do. You’re all in this together. This is your chance to prove your empathy for them, the brand, the users, and beyond, and impress them with that unique presence they might like to work more closely with in the future.
Discover how to unleash your presentation skills potential and much more in our course Present Like a Pro: Communication Skills to Fast-Track Your Career with Morgane Peng, Managing Director, Global Head of Product Design and AI Transformation.
Enjoy a wealth of prime presentation-related points to help boost your confidence, in our Master Class Win Clients, Pitches and Approval: Present Your Designs Effectively with Todd Zaki Warfel, Author, Speaker and Leadership Coach.
Enjoy a treasure trove of insights into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and what really matters in business, in our Master Class Design KPIs: From Insights to Impact with Vitaly Friedman, Senior UX Consultant, European Parliament, and Creative Lead, Smashing Magazine.
Enjoy essential views of how to understand and approach non-designers in our Master Class How to Deal with People Who Don't Get Design with Morgane Peng.
Reach far back into the past for some powerful points about how to cast your presence to maximum effect when you stand in front of others speaking and feel authentic and professional in the process, in our article The Persuasion Triad — Aristotle Still Teaches.
Empower yourself with valuable insights into how stakeholders might assess your nonverbal approach in this Financial Poise article, How Your Nonverbal Communication Can Help (or Hurt) You Professionally.
Executives want the bottom line fast, so start with your key point or recommendation in the first minute, not the background story. A simple phrase such as, “We can cut costs by 15% if we change X” gets their attention right away.
Once you’ve stated the outcome, share the supporting evidence. Use confident body language, steady eye contact, and a strong opening slide or statement to set the tone. Avoid jargon and long-winded intros; clarity beats cleverness every time. Remember, executives filter information constantly to sort signals from noise. If you make your point clear and useful from the start and ditch the “noise,” they’ll stay engaged and ask for details instead of tuning out.
Discover what matters to cast better impressions in presentations, in our article Key Soft Skills to Succeed as a UX Designer.
Always lead with the insight and then follow with the data that proves it. Executives don’t want to sift through numbers before hearing why they matter, even if a high percentage figure may seem dramatic enough to be self-explanatory. For example, instead of saying, “The churn rate is 12%,” start with, “We’re losing high-value customers faster than competitors, and it’s costing us $5 million a year.”
Then show the data that backs this up, an approach that connects the numbers directly to business outcomes. Those outcomes are what decision-makers care about most. By putting insight first, you make the take-away clear and memorable, while still building credibility with solid evidence. Executives respect data-driven insights, all right, but they value clear conclusions even more.
Gain more from your presentations, and from more interested attendees, with a wealth of helpful points to appreciate your value as a designer, in our article How to Communicate Clearly and Gain People’s Interest.
The best way to prepare for executive questions is to anticipate them in advance. Think about what keeps leaders up at night (cost, risk, customer impact, or timelines) and prepare concise answers.
Rehearse with a colleague and ask them to push back on your points so you can practice staying calm under pressure. Build a “fast facts” sheet with the three most common data points you expect to defend, such as return on investment (ROI), budget impact, or implementation risks.
Keep answers short, clear, and free of jargon. If you don’t know the answer, acknowledge it and promise to follow up. Executives value honesty, clarity, and preparation more than overconfidence or guesswork.
Ready yourself for design critiques so you can turn constructive criticism into something even more positive that preserves professionalism and guides the room towards productive outcomes.
If an executive interrupts, stop talking, listen carefully, and address their point directly. Don’t push ahead with your script; it signals that you’re not listening. Instead, acknowledge their question with respect: “That’s a good point; here’s what the data shows.” Keep your answer short and relevant.
If the interruption pulls you off track, steer the conversation back with a bridging phrase like, “To tie that back to the main issue…” Remember, interruptions aren’t always negative; they often mean the executive is engaged and wants clarity. Treat interruptions as opportunities to show responsiveness and agility, not as obstacles. When you handle them calmly, you earn credibility and prove you’re made of executive stuff.
Explore how to come across more effectively in presentations in our article What Soft Skills Does a UX Designer Need?.
Yes, but keep slides simple, clean, and focused on the message. Executives won’t read dense text or complicated charts. It’s your job to make it matter to them and concise.
Use one idea per slide, with a clear headline that states the conclusion: “Customer churn costs $5M yearly,” not “Churn data.” Use visuals like trend lines, bar charts, or icons sparingly and only if they clarify the point. Don’t include decorative slides or animations that distract from the message. Above all, your slides should support you in executive UX presentations, not replace you.
Many executives prefer a short, focused deck they can scan in about two minutes. Remember: the slide deck isn’t the presentation; you are. Keep it lean, clear, and directly tied to the decision at hand.
Discover how to do the preparation that can pave the way to the success of your talk, in our article Stakeholder Mapping: The Complete Guide to Stakeholder Maps.
If executives disagree, don’t pick sides. Stay neutral and focus on the business outcome. Acknowledge both views respectfully, such as: “I see the concern about cost, and I also understand the need for speed.” Then redirect to the shared goal: “Our priority is reducing customer churn while staying within budget, and here’s an option that balances both.”
Use data and scenarios to anchor the conversation instead of personal opinions. If the disagreement becomes heated, offer to run a quick test, pilot, or follow-up analysis to validate the options.
Overall, your role isn’t to solve executive politics or step in as an ad-hoc peacemaker. It’s to keep the discussion fact-based and business-focused for the good of the brand and the users. Should you become the calm voice in a stormy room, it’ll prove you can handle conflicts well and build credibility as a trusted, objective advisor.
Learn how to cast your presence well as a trustable presenter in more effective presentations where people listen, in this video with Morgane Peng, Managing Director, Global Head of Product Design and AI Transformation.
Time is money; executives have invested time into listening to you. They expect you to respect their time, so managing the clock is critical. Always start with the key message and recommendation so you deliver value even if the meeting runs short.
Plan to use only 70–80% of your allotted time, leaving room for questions. Rehearse your presentation with a timer to ensure you can deliver it smoothly in less than the slot given. Prioritize your content into what they must know, what’s nice to know, and what you can leave for follow-up. If time slips because of discussion, adjust on the fly; summarize the remaining points instead of rushing. When you show you can manage time well, you prove your professionalism and executive readiness.
Get a firmer grip on how businesspeople tend to view resources and results, via Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Executives trust people who combine competence with credibility. To show competence, know your material cold; and be prepared with facts, not guesses. Show credibility through clarity, honesty, and openness. Admit what you don’t know and follow up quickly when needed.
Communicate in plain business language, not jargon, so your message feels accessible to the target audience. And align your work to what executives value most: revenue, cost savings, customer satisfaction, or risk reduction.
Body language matters, too, so sit upright, make eye contact, and stay calm under pressure. Trust builds when you consistently deliver useful insights, respect their time, and show that you’re acting in the business’s best interest, not just your own.
Discover how to tap one of the most powerful forces in design, in our article Trust: Building the Bridge to Our Users.
One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make is to bury the key message in too much detail. Many presenters spend ten minutes building context before making their point, but executives lose patience fast. Instead of leading with the journey, lead with the destination: your conclusion or recommendation. And then you can share only the details that support it.
Overloading slides with text or data is another common error; it makes the audience read instead of listen, and your presence falls away. Rambling answers, overusing jargon, or failing to connect insights to business outcomes weaken your message, too.
Remember, executives want clarity, brevity, and relevance. If you force them to dig for the take-away, you’ve already lost their attention and, perhaps worse, establish yourself as someone who doesn’t have empathy with either them or the brand they lead.
Explore how empathy is the lifeblood in design and tailoring anything you present to users (including business stakeholders), in our video.
Always deliver bad news directly and calmly. Don’t soften the message so much that it sounds unclear or evasive. Start with the fact, such as: “The project is three weeks behind schedule.” Then explain why it happened and what’s being done to fix it.
Show ownership of the problem and outline clear next steps or options. Frame the situation in business terms, such as cost, risk, or customer impact. Avoid blame; executives care less about who caused the issue and more about what it’ll take to resolve it. Transparency earns credibility, especially when things go wrong. Executives respect honesty, accountability, and a proactive plan far more than they do excuses or spin.
Check out some important points about UX management to get a firmer understanding of what matters higher up.
Silence can feel uncomfortable, but don’t rush to fill it. Executives often pause to think, weigh trade-offs, or (harsh as it might seem) test your confidence. If you’ve made your point, stop talking and let the silence work. Hold steady eye contact, maintain a calm posture, and give them space to process. If the pause drags on for too long, check in with a simple, neutral question like, “Would you like me to expand on that?” This shows them confidence and respect from you.
Hard as it might be, don’t start rambling nervously during silence or repeating points you think are worth a second go. That can undercut your message and make you seem unsure. Remember, silence is part of executive communication and it often just means they’re considering your proposal seriously: good news.
Take heart with some encouraging points about how to communicate effectively with executives, in this video from Todd Zaki Warfel, Author, Speaker and Leadership Coach.
If executives push back, don’t get defensive. Acknowledge their perspective first with something like: “I understand your concern about cost.” Then restate your case with evidence and show how it ties to the business goal.
If disagreement continues, offer alternatives or suggest a pilot program to test your idea with low risk. Sometimes executives disagree because they see risks you didn’t mention, so ask questions to understand their reasoning. Stay calm and collaborative, not combative. Even if they reject your recommendation, you leave the door open for future discussions and at least they know you’re professional, amicable, and have the good of the organization well in mind and deeply at heart.
If the pushback seems unreasonable or seems to cross the line to focus on you, remain polite, positive, and proactive. What matters most is showing you can handle disagreement professionally while keeping the conversation focused on outcomes.
Pick up pointers on how to hold up under “fire” in our article Angry Customers: Learn to Deal with them and Turn them Into Your Most Loyal Customers.
Cuddy, A. J. C., Kohut, M., & Neffinger, J. (2013, July). Connect, then lead. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/07/connect-then-lead
This influential piece explains the warmth–competence model, critical for executive presence. Leaders (and anyone presenting to them) gain practical tactics for signaling credibility and approachability: posture, eye contact, vocal tone, and structure. The take-away: establish trust (warmth) so your expertise (competence) can land. It’s grounded in research yet highly tactical, helping you handle tense executive rooms, reset an audience after tough questions, and project confidence without slipping into defensiveness.
Tannen, D. (1995, September). The power of talk: Who gets heard and why. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1995/09/the-power-of-talk-who-gets-heard-and-why
Deborah Tannen shows how style affects credibility—interruptions, directness, turn-taking, and nuance shape who gets heard. Still relevant, this article helps you read executive dynamics and adapt without losing authenticity. Use it to improve cross-functional updates, manage dominant voices, and ensure your key point gets airtime. It’s especially valuable for rising leaders who need to translate expertise into influence in rooms where time is scarce and the loudest voice can overshadow the best idea.
Nielsen Norman Group. (2017, September 24). 5 Strategies for Presenting UX Remotely. Nielsen Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/presenting-remotely/
This NN/g article gives five practical methods for improving remote UX presentations. It emphasizes simplifying slides, pacing clearly, and using chat, polls, and visual cues to replace in-person body language. It addresses the challenge of reduced non-verbal presence in virtual settings, too, offering solutions that maintain engagement and clarity. For UX practitioners, this advice is crucial in today’s hybrid work context: much user research and stakeholder communication now happens online.
Yocco, V. (2024, June 5). Presenting UX research and design to stakeholders: The power of persuasion. Smashing Magazine. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/06/presenting-ux-research-design-stakeholders/
In Presenting UX Research and Design to Stakeholders, Victor Yocco emphasizes the crucial role of persuasive communication in UX practice. Drawing from his experience and principles of behavioral science, Yocco outlines methods for effectively sharing UX research and design concepts with stakeholders to gain buy-in and influence decision-making. The article explores how UX practitioners can tailor their presentations to different audiences, foster empathy, and use storytelling and data visualization to create alignment.
Duarte, N. (2012). HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations. Harvard Business Review Press.
Nancy Duarte’s guide is a field manual for executive-ready messaging and slides. You’ll get templates and tactics for headline-driven slides, sequencing ideas, using visuals for insight (not decoration), and tailoring content for decision-makers. It also covers delivery, timing, pace, and handling Q&A, so you can sound as clear as you look. If you need one practical resource to upgrade exec presentations quickly, this is it.
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Here's the entire UX literature on Executive Communication by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:
Take a deep dive into Executive Communication with our course Present Like a Pro: Communication Skills to Fast-Track Your Career .
Make yourself invaluable when you master the art of delivery and craft messages that resonate. You'll inspire action and guide the conversation. You become the person people listen to, trust, and follow. Research shows that people trained in presentation skills are 12% more likely to move into leadership roles. This is the skill that gets your name on the next big project, a salary increase, and the shortlist for promotion. Deliver presentations where each word works for you and gets you the results you want.
Gain confidence and credibility as you learn how to overcome nervousness and impostor syndrome, use your voice and body language to engage any audience, and own every room you enter. Never again leave a meeting thinking, "I should have said that better." Master the overlooked skill of turning feedback into fuel: handle criticism with confidence, navigate difficult conversations, and make Q&A sessions your strongest moments. If you can't communicate your ideas, someone else will, and they'll get the credit.
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