Slide-free security updates - to the board, from the heart?
Last year I was asked to speak at the Cybercon conference in Melbourne. The talk was to be about my experience working as an expat in Hong Kong and subsequent repatriation. While in Hong Kong I worked for three and a half years as a Head of Cyber Security for a power company, accountable for four different countries in the region. As the Cybercon conference date approached, I found myself troubled in preparing the slides. I had tried to write them on several occasions, but I found that it just wasn't sitting well with me. I had tried putting together slides that had bullet points and then I'd kill them off one by one. I then put together slides that just had pictures of Hong Kong landscapes or power stations or boardrooms. I found that there were no slides that I felt were worthwhile because what I wanted was for people to listen to my story. So on the day when I arrived three people asked me where my slides were and there were some mind-boggling glances when I told them there were no visuals. I felt that the topic was so personal to me that to have slides would detract from the story and that any script would have pressured me to deliver it in a way that was not authentic.
What this presentation reminded me was that often the best presentations are ones that come from the heart, that are factual and dont need to be scripted in order to remember what is valuable. I follow several great public speaking coaches on LinkedIn who all make the point of not scripting your talk and just consider a few key words or bullet point prompters to remind you of what you want to cover. Given our brains like to work in threes, if you have three clear messages that you can repeat this goes a long way towards engaging your audience in your content.
I’ve been working with some clients of late about the story they are telling the board about cyber security. My clients are concerned about keeping the story consistent, writing a board paper that engages and inspires questions and gives confidence and certainty that they are effectively managing the risks.
So when it comes to telling the board a story about information security, the three things that I would recommend are as follows:
Be factual and keep the messages simple and focused on what’s essential. Your message will be delivered more sincerely and it’s easier to tell the same story consistently.
Write the Board a paper or slidedoc for pre-reading and only use slides during your presentation if they are absolutely necessary.
Stay current - be clear on the recent cyber activities in the media and know your position/policy on pertinent topics that affect your organisation. Getting caught out by a well-read board member can kill your credibility and self-confidence.
Cyber is a broad reaching topic and it may seem impossible to have all the data stored in your memory. However it’s important to be able to share relevant information with the Board at regular intervals. If you have served your organisation more than a few months, do you think you would feel confident to approach your Board or subcommittee slide free and from the heart?
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