A question came my way recently that sits at the heart of executive presence:
How do you explain what you’re working on clearly and succinctly — without losing the substance?
It’s deceptively simple. And most leaders, even experienced ones, struggle with it.
Here’s why it matters more than you might think.
When senior stakeholders understand how your work connects to company priorities and business outcomes, buy-in comes more easily. Your judgment is trusted. Your relevance is assumed rather than questioned. And over time, your perceived value compounds.
You still have to deliver — that’s non-negotiable. But especially in moments of first impression, or when you’re resetting perception after a setback, how you communicate your work is as important as the work itself.
So how do you tell a crisp story?
- Get clear on what actually matters
Start at the right altitude.
This isn’t about explaining every detail of your function. It’s about distilling what you do into something a smart person outside your discipline can immediately understand and find relevant.
Before you open your mouth, know your audience:
- What are they accountable for?
- What keeps them up at night?
- How does your work help them win?
When you have clarity on those three questions, your message stops being a status update and starts being a business conversation.
- Write it down — then edit ruthlessly
Most leaders try to do this in their heads. That’s the mistake.
Writing forces clarity in a way that thinking doesn’t. Get the key points down, then run everything through two filters:
- Is this simple enough for someone outside my function to follow?
- Does this connect to something the listener actually cares about?
If it’s too detailed, too long, or too internally focused — keep cutting. The goal is not comprehensiveness. The goal is resonance.
- Test it, refine it, make it yours
Share your narrative with people outside your immediate team and ask for honest feedback. Does it land? Does it make sense? Does it make them want to know more?
The goal isn’t perfection — it’s clarity. And clarity comes from repetition. The more you say it out loud, the more natural and precise it becomes.
Your message will also need to evolve. What you say to a peer is different from what you say to a Board member or a CEO. The core stays the same — the framing adjusts to the audience and the moment.
The bottom line
Executive presence isn’t about saying more. It’s about making it effortless for others to understand why your work matters — and why you’re the right person leading it.
So here’s the question worth sitting with: if someone senior stopped you in the hallway today and asked “What are you working on and why does it matter?” — could you answer clearly, confidently, and in under two minutes?
If the answer is anything other than a confident yes, it might be time to work on your story.
