How A Regular Joe Made It To The Boardroom
Most of us have dreamed of walking into a corporate boardroom and presenting one our ideas to the management. But how in the world does that happen? All too often, an average Joe finds himself paralyzed by fear before even approaching a business opportunity. We all would love to be able to tell that CEO about some new business idea we've been thinking about but for whatever reason it just never happens for us. Without a doubt, the conversation goes something like this:
"Hi, my name is… and I…"
"…but where are you from?"
"I'm from around here," we reply – a pat answer to an interesting question. Collectively, we've all heard that one before. But what's really happening in our mind throughout this exchange? We make up just enough story to get their full attention, but not enough detail to be believable. We reveal a bit of ourselves, but not enough to really connect.
We all want to believe we can walk into any boardroom, say anything to a CEO and have our ideas taken seriously . That's not possible. But it is possible to present our ideas in the correct way.
We may not be able to tell a perfect story with 100% of the details in place, but we can communicate an idea with confidence and conviction. We can also use that moment to tell the story of who we are as well. If we let them know more about us, they will be more likely to take the idea seriously and consider it further.
The first step is to do the research and understand exactly who we're talking to. Through the research phase, you'll uncover what that person's background is, how they got where they are, what company they work for, their overall mission statement and how you fit into that concept. This will require a bit of homework on your end but understanding their story will allow you to relate to them on a deeper level.
Conclusion