If You Want to Be Heard, You Better Know Your Audience: Three Game-Changing Tips for a Flawless Presentation

Yet when sharing PPC results, many strategists make the mistake of including too many unnecessary details.

It’s important to adjust your presentation based on your audience, and this is especially true for VPs or C-suite leaders.

They have limited time and are often distracted by many tasks.

Here are three ways to make your next PPC report for executives more effective and powerful.

1. Dare to Embrace the Obvious Takeaway

There are times when “save the best for last” is good advice. Yet, presenting to executives is not one of those times.

Executives are busy and can be impatient. They want a quick summary, not a long explanation.

They need to know right off the bat what the takeaway should be. 

To give them that takeaway, you first need to figure out what it is. My formula for the perfect takeaway has three primary parts:

• What did you do?
• What happened? (Tie this back to the main goals of the project or business if not readily apparent.)
• How should your audience feel about it, and what are you doing next?

Once you have these three elements, you have your default opener. 

Your takeaway should start things off. It is the first sentence of your email. It is the abstract of your report or the opening slide of your presentation. 

The beauty of this format is that it hits all the main points. It limits your ability to wax poetic about your process. It also limits discussing secondary metrics that don’t actually matter to someone with a VP title. 

The executive needs to know what you did, but they usually don’t need to know how you did it. 

They need to know the results, but only as far as they affect the primary KPIs. 

And they need to know how they should feel about it and what comes next.

Here is an example takeaway:

• We launched Performance Max campaigns at the beginning of last month. 
• In the past eight weeks, these campaigns drove more leads at a lower cost than legacy campaigns. Notably, an 8% lower cost per acquisition and a 4% higher conversion rate.
• These results are great early indicators. We expect to improve them in the coming months. We will launch extra Performance Max campaigns.

This takeaway starts out by “naming” the project, so the executive can reference it later if needed. 

It explains how the results affected the main goal (leads). This is true even if the numbers we’re discussing (CPA and CR) are slightly different.

Most executives not realize that a 4% increase in conversion rate for PPC is impressive. This highlights that these results are very good. It outlines the next steps.

2. Data: Your Greatest Ally or Your Worst Distraction?

Now that you have your main point, you know what to do next.

For choosing the data and images to put in your reports, follow this checklist.

Is Your Data Visualization Really Reflecting the Metrics in Your Takeaway?

Use the metrics in your takeaway to guide the data you select. This ensures that the data you show is directly relevant to your main point. 

It also helps you find data that is fascinating. Yet, you should rule out data that doesn’t directly tie to what you’re trying to say. 

Charts or tables that do not directly relate to your takeaway should be relegated to the appendix. They can also be shared later as supplementary.

Are You Sure Your Data Visualization Points to the Right Place?

Data and charts can be confusing, so it’s important for executives to see what matters most at a quick glance.

Use visuals to make sure your audience understands the data easily instead of complicating it.

Incorporate arrows, call-outs, highlights, and text to direct attention clearly. This is especially crucial when you have a table with many rows and columns.

Is Your Data Visualization Making a Bold Statement?

A data chart should only convey one major point to avoid obscuring or overshadowing your takeaway. 

You are tempted to fall into the “more is better” trap, but resist the temptation. 

Remember that successful results mean tailoring your presentation to your audience.

When your audience is executives, they need to know right away why you are including a chart. They should also understand what they should take from it. 

You need to be ruthlessly stingy when evaluating how necessary metrics are. Be generous in creating new visualizations for each point. 

If complex visualizations are necessary, use highlights, arrows, and call-outs to draw attention to the part that really matters. 

3. Challenge Your Colleague from Another Team!

“The medium is the message” is an idea from communication expert Marshall McLuhan.

He believes that how a message is presented affects how it is understood.

This means that the way you speak about your slides is as important as what’s on them.

The words you use in your emails influence how the reader understands the information.

The way you present your report is just as important as what it says.

You may know what you want to say. You might even follow the right steps. However, it can be tough to know if your message is clear.

You may feel like you’re being more concise than usual.

Still, it can seem rambling and confusing to executives who don’t interact with you regularly. They have no point of comparison.

To help evaluate the medium of your message and to ensure it makes sense to an executive, run your presentation or report by a colleague who is not knowledgeable about PPC and ask for specific feedback, such as: 

• Is your takeaway clear?
• Is the main point evident quickly? 
• Does the data clearly support your main point? 
• Is there “fluff” that can be removed or seems superfluous? 
• Does it feel too long? 
• If it’s a verbal presentation
  • Are your transitions from slide to slide seamless? 
  • Do you use acronyms and not explain what they stand for? 
  • Is the information organized in an easy-to-follow format?
• If it’s a written report
  • Are there too many conjunctions? 
  • Did they have to read any sentences twice?

Make sure to time yourself, too. 

Shorter is better. A time or word limit, even a self-imposed one, can help you rule out items that aren’t directly relevant. It can also help remove unnecessary wordiness. 

Shocking the Audience: Present Your Work to Those Who Truly Matter

If these tips feel like extra effort, that’s because they are.

When you’re presenting to executives, you’re talking to some of the most important people in the company. You need to prepare differently for such presentations.

These individuals can help your ideas succeed or block them completely.

Although it can be stressful to share results with senior leaders, doing it well can lead to new opportunities. Keep your message clear and avoid getting lost in details.