Webinar: Communicating with Executives Effectively by Google Group PM, Vincent Wu

Summary

In this informative presentation, Vince, a Google product manager, shares valuable insights on effectively communicating with busy executives. He emphasizes the importance of structuring communication to motivate action, understanding the executive's perspective, and being concise and direct. Vince introduces a three-step process for clear communication: starting with the answer, grouping and summarizing supporting arguments, and logically structuring the narrative. He also highlights the use of the pyramid principle for organizing ideas and suggests further reading for those interested in enhancing their communication skills.

Takeaways

• 🎯 Prioritize communication with executives by understanding their time constraints and decision-making pressures.
• 🚀 The ultimate goal of effective communication is to motivate action, whether it's resources, alignment, or progress.
• 🤔 Consider the executive's perspective by imagining their daily workload and the need for quick, informed decisions.
• 📊 Executives often lack detailed knowledge on specific topics, relying on trust in the presenter's vision and leadership.
• 🔄 Follow a simple flowchart for decision-making: importance of the topic, right people involved, and agreement with next steps.
• 💡 Structure communication with a top-down approach: start with the conclusion or recommendation, then provide supporting details.
• 🌟 Clarity in communication is enhanced by grouping and summarizing supporting arguments in a logical manner.
• 📈 Use inductive reasoning over deductive when presenting arguments for easier comprehension by the audience.
• 📝 Logically structure writing by organizing ideas by time order, structural order, or degree of importance.
• 📚 Follow the 'situation-complication-question-answer' pattern to tell a compelling business story that resonates with executives.
• 📖 Further reading recommendations include 'The Minto Pyramid Principle' and 'The So What Strategy' for enhancing communication skills.

Q & A

What is the ultimate purpose of effectively communicating with busy executives?

The ultimate purpose of effectively communicating with busy executives is to motivate action, such as securing resources, gaining alignment, or obtaining approval for proposals.

What is a common challenge faced by product managers when presenting to executives?

A common challenge is that product managers often have to deal with executives who are pressed for time and may not have the opportunity to go through all the details presented, leading to potential derailment in meetings and ineffective communication.

How does Vince suggest structuring communications to busy executives?

Vince suggests using a top-down structure, starting with the answer to the executive's question first, followed by supporting arguments. This approach is counterintuitive for many but is effective for busy executives who prefer quick access to conclusions.

What are the three steps to improve communication with executives?

The three steps are: 1) Start with the answer to the executive's question, 2) Group and summarize supporting arguments, and 3) Logically structure your writing.

Why is using inductive reasoning recommended over deductive reasoning when presenting arguments?

Inductive reasoning is recommended because it states the conclusion upfront and is easier for the reader to absorb. It requires less effort to comprehend and allows the reader to follow the argument more easily.

What is the 'pyramid principle' mentioned in the script?

The pyramid principle is a method of structuring communication where ideas are arranged in a hierarchical pattern, with the most important point at the top and supporting details below it. It ensures that at any level of the pyramid, there is a summary of the ideas grouped below.

What is the recommended number of ideas to present in a group?

The recommended number of ideas in a group is three, as it has been found to be an effective number for persuading senior personnel and making the presentation clear and memorable.

How can the 'mutually exclusive collectively exhaustive' (MECE) principle be applied in structuring communication?

The MECE principle ensures that the ideas presented are logically grouped without overlap and that nothing has been left out. It helps in avoiding confusion and maintaining clarity in the communication.

What are the common patterns for structuring a storyline in communication?

Common patterns include action plans for solving problems, pitches for proposing ideas, choosing among alternatives, and updates framed in red-green-yellow status across projects.

What additional resources does Vince recommend for further reading on structured communication?

Vince recommends 'The Minto Pyramid Principle' by Barbara Minto and 'The So What Strategy' as additional resources for further reading on structured communication and effective storytelling in business contexts.

How does Vince describe the executive's thought process when reviewing presentations?

Vince describes the executive's thought process as a 'busy executive stop process' where they quickly assess if the topic is important, if the right people are working on it, and if they agree with the next steps. This process is based on trust and leadership, with executives either trusting the presenter to execute or considering a change in leadership.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Effective Communication with Busy Executives

This paragraph introduces the topic of effective communication with executives who have limited time and patience. Vince, a product manager at Google, shares insights from his experience and mentors. The goal of communication is to motivate action, and understanding the executive's perspective is crucial. Executives are often the least informed due to their time constraints, and the 'busy executive stop process' is introduced as a flowchart for decision-making. The importance of trust and leadership in executive-level communication is emphasized.

05:01

📈 Structuring Communication for Maximum Impact

The paragraph discusses the importance of structuring communication in a top-down manner, starting with the answer to the executive's question and then listing supporting arguments. This counterintuitive approach aligns with the executive's preference for big-picture thinking and quick information processing. The use of a pyramid structure for organizing ideas is introduced, with the punchline at the top, followed by supporting material. The importance of clarity in the punchline and the persuasiveness of directness are highlighted, along with the need to consider the executive's perspective when answering questions.

10:02

🔍 Enhancing Persuasiveness through Logical Grouping

This section delves into the art of grouping and summarizing supporting arguments to enhance persuasiveness. It explains the pyramid principle and the two major ways to group ideas: deductive and inductive reasoning. The paragraph advocates for inductive reasoning, as it presents the conclusion upfront and is easier for the reader to follow. The importance of structuring ideas in a logical and mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive manner is emphasized, along with the recommendation to present three reasons for maximum impact.

15:02

📝 The Art of Logical Writing Structure

The paragraph focuses on the final step of logically structuring writing to ensure that ideas within each group are coherent and follow a logical order. Various methods of ordering ideas, such as time order, structural order, and degree order, are discussed. The universal appeal of storytelling is highlighted, and the paragraph suggests structuring business communication like a story, with a clear situation, complication, question, and answer. The importance of practice in mastering these communication techniques is reiterated.

20:03

📚 Further Reading and Conclusion

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker wraps up the presentation by reiterating the importance of keeping the executive's decision-making process in mind and structuring communication with a top-down approach. The speaker also provides further reading recommendations for those interested in improving their communication skills, including 'The Minto Pyramid Principle' and 'The So What Strategy'. The presentation ends on a hopeful note, aiming to have provided valuable insights for effective communication with busy executives.

Keywords

💡Communication

The process of transferring information or ideas through speaking, writing, or using some other medium. In the context of the video, effective communication is crucial for engaging busy executives, where the presenter must convey their message concisely and persuasively to achieve the desired action or response.

💡Executives

High-ranking individuals in an organization who make important decisions and have significant responsibilities. The video script discusses the challenges of communicating with executives due to their limited time and the need for them to make quick decisions based on the information presented.

💡Product Manager

A professional role responsible for guiding the development and success of a product or product line. In the video, Vince's experience as a product manager at Google for 10 years provides credibility to his advice on communicating with executives.

💡Mentors

Individuals who provide guidance, support, and knowledge to help others grow professionally or personally. In the video, Vince acknowledges the influence of his mentors and colleagues in shaping his understanding of effective communication with busy executives.

💡Trust

A feeling of confidence in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone. In the context of the video, trust is a fundamental element in the relationship between product managers and executives, where the latter must have confidence in the前者's ability to execute and deliver results.

💡Leadership

The ability to guide, inspire, and influence a group of people towards achieving a common goal. Leadership is a key quality that executives look for in the individuals they interact with, as it indicates the capacity to drive projects forward effectively.

💡金字塔原理 (Pyramid Principle)

A method for structuring communications from the most important point to the least, creating a logical hierarchy of ideas. The video uses this principle to illustrate how to present information in a way that is clear and easily digestible for executives.

💡Vision

A clear picture in one's mind of what the future should look like and the direction in which one is headed. In the video, having a clear vision is essential for aligning executives with the goals and strategies of a project or product.

💡Alignment

The process of ensuring that different parts of an organization or different stakeholders are working towards the same goals. In the context of the video, alignment is critical for gaining executive support and resources for initiatives.

💡Ability

The possession of the qualities or skills necessary to do something successfully. In the video, the ability refers to the capability of the team working on a project, which executives must trust in order to approve and support the project's progression.

💡Action Plan

A detailed series of steps outlined to achieve a specific goal or objective. In the video, an action plan is what the presenter must effectively communicate to the executive, ensuring that the steps are clear, concise, and actionable.

Highlights

The ultimate purpose of effectively communicating with busy executives is to motivate action.

Executives are extremely pressed for time, running from one meeting to another with minimal preparation time.

Product managers are accustomed to pre-reading long and nuanced documents, which does not work for executives.

The 'busy executive stop process' involves assessing the importance of the topic, the right people working on it, and agreement with the next steps.

At the executive level, almost everything is a trust and leadership problem.

Communication should be structured in a top-down manner, starting with the conclusion or answer to the executive's question.

The key to effective communication is to demonstrate both a clear vision and strong leadership ability.

The 'pyramid principle' suggests grouping ideas in a hierarchical structure to aid memorability and effectiveness.

Inductive reasoning is recommended over deductive reasoning for structuring arguments in communication with executives.

The 'magic number' of ideas in a group is three for maximum persuasiveness and clarity.

Ideas should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive to avoid confusion and ensure completeness.

Logically structuring writing involves ordering ideas by time, structure, or degree of importance.

Stories follow a pattern of situation, complication, question, and answer, which is effective in engaging executives.

The Minto Pyramid Principle is a classic resource for understanding and applying effective communication structures.

The 'So What? Strategy' offers insights into leveraging classic storylines for impactful communication.

Practicing the principles of structured communication will help in noticing patterns and improving communication skills over time.

Transcripts

hi there if you've been wondering about

how to communicate effectively

with executives who have limited time

and patience you've come to the right

place

this is a presentation about exactly

that we'll be going over some big

picture ideas about how to structure

your communications

and how to think about the process my

name is vince

and i've been a product manager at

google for the past 10 years

and currently i'm based in our offices

in zurich

switzerland first of all

credit where credit is due the ideas

here are from many great minds

and so i want to acknowledge and thank

my mentors

former bosses colleagues and other

amazing product managers

who i've learned from over the years

i want to start with our goals

what's the purpose of effectively

communicating with busy executives

i'd like to convince you that the

ultimate purpose at the exact levels

is to motivate action maybe you want

resources

maybe you need alignment maybe you need

some runway whatever it is it's useful

to jump into the shoes

of the executive what does their day

look like we'll talk more about this but

to start with

executives are extremely pressed for

time they run from

one meeting to another they make

decisions with minimal to no time to

prepare

while at the working level product

managers in our cross-functional teams

our cups

are accustomed to pre-read maybe long

and nuanced documents

that does not work for executives they

simply don't have the time

preparing for exec review meetings is

something product managers do all the

time of course

there's nothing as sad as seeing a

product manager get derailed

in the meeting run out of time before

going through what they really wanted to

go through

and then they get kicked out of the

conference room that has certainly

happened to me

now it's not a stretch to say that an

exec is most often the least informed

person

in the room no matter what the topic is

it's just impossible

to spend enough time on any particular

topic when you're

at that vantage point so what is the

busy executive stop process then well

here i present to you a simple flowchart

that has proven true for me well first

things first

uh is this an important topic if not

should we be doing something else

second does it seem like the right

people are working on it if not

new leaders are probably needed and

finally

do i agree with the next steps if not

probably the best course of action is to

send the folks back to try again

and if yes approve the situation and

move on to the next topic

the point is that at an exact level

almost everything is a trust

and leadership problem they either trust

you to get it done

or they change leadership they certainly

don't have the time to do it themselves

so how do busy executives answer the

questions

in the flow chart well they are

listening for key things that make them

believe in both your vision

and your leadership ability to get it

done demonstrating all that requires

going into the details and data of

course

but before we get too much into the

weeds it's useful to consider the bigger

buckets

vision does the team know where they are

going and how they will get there

alignment do stakeholders agree you know

as an executive would

i agree with the direction ability

do i trust these people that are working

on this project do they have the

capability

to execute and to make progress need

what do they need for me to continue and

to be successful

is it simply endorsement is it more

resources

now so far i haven't talked about any

communication tips

just yet you might be wondering whether

communication skills makes a difference

well let me start with a rather silly

example

here we have a stream of consciousness

john connor called to say that he can't

make the meeting at three o'clock

kyle reese says he doesn't mind making

it later or even tomorrow

but not before 10 30 and meanwhile

kate's admin says that brewster won't

return from nyc until tomorrow

late the conference room is booked

tomorrow but free thursday

thursday at 11 looks to be a good time

is that okay for you wow

i think a natural response to a

paragraph like this is probably what

what did i just read

now let's look at structuring this

better

could we reschedule today's meeting to

thursday at 11 o'clock

this would be more convenient for john

and kyle it would also permit kate to be

president

it is also the only other time this week

that the conference room is quick

it's free now what just happened well

we put the conclusion or the question up

front

no preamble no long buildup all of that

all of that comes afterwards as

supporting material

now visually we might represent things

like this

to communicate in a structured way with

a busy executive you start with the

answer

to the executive's question first and

then list your supporting arguments

this top down structure is

counterintuitive

for many of us because we like to talk

about the process

of which we got to the answer so for

many people it's natural to build up to

the conclusion if you will

by first reciting all the facts

recounting all of the analyses that have

been done

or reviewing all of those supporting

ideas then only after you've talked

about all that

you get to the punch line

so this silly example would

visually look like this right so you

have the answer at the very beginning we

schedule through thursday 11 o'clock and

then you have the reasons

underneath

now let's look at something that you

might imagine seeing at work

okay so when we look at the company

sales data we see that there was

has been a decline over the years we

also face increased competition

even though we introduced new features

two years ago and we launched the

product

these new features required a new

factory to be built which also increased

costs

we have to increase market share to

attain an economy of scale

again uh you know the natural response

to this is

what what did i just read right uh what

what is the action here

okay well let's let's fix this

uh this would be a much better

structured way of doing it you start

with the punchline

to regain profitability we have to

improve market share by cutting prices

and then you add the supporting material

lower prices will increase sales

lower prices versus competitive

competitors will increase our market

share

and finally increased volume helps us

create economies of scale right so

everything sort of makes sense

now this may look simple and obvious

but establishing clarity in the punch

line takes practice to do well

consider the difference between the two

statements here

the first one is something that seems

reasonable at first glance and i i've

i've done things like this where i say

oh i want to update the leadership

on the progress right and

uh what is missing is that the action

you want to motivate

so what's what what what is it that you

want to achieve

the second sentence here is much better

the goal is much clearer and sometimes

you know you really just want to give an

update which is fine but still i

challenge that the action could be to

for example endorse the plan to proceed

as planned

okay so i realize all of this seems

rather obvious and

you know when you put things side by

side uh it seems like well obviously you

would

present things in a much clearer way

right so are there concrete steps to get

from

before to after in fact yes this is what

this next section is about

let me show you three steps that will up

your game

now to follow the principles that i just

talked about i'll go straight to the

answer

so step one start with the answer first

step two

group and summarize your supporting

arguments and step three

logically structure your writing

let's jump right into step one when an

executive

asks you a question what should we do

you start your response with

you should do x very crisply and

directly that's the way to do it

now only then after you've answered

should you present your supporting ideas

why well first you want to maximize your

time within

an exec audience executives are busy

they

are perpetually short on time and

they're used to processing lots of

information quickly

and they obviously get impatient when

they feel like something

or some you know someone isn't getting

to the point

to get most of your short time with an

executive you want to make your

recommendation

first and foremost in some cases

the executive may already mental

mentally be at the conclusion you want

them to reach

in which case you know they'll just

accept your recommendation and move on

in which case problem solved

second many executives often think in a

top-down manner they want to focus on

the big picture

and in this case the big picture means

the answer

they want to get bogged down by details

right by delivering your recommendation

in the answer first format you are

fitting into the executive's mental

model

and allowing them to quickly process

your recommendation

finally i found that you're a lot more

persuasive when you're just direct right

by answering

the executive's question first you sound

more assertive and confident

you're not searching for reasons or

words you're not wavering

you're just directly answering the

question and that's what executives

enjoy and want now

there are a few things that are

important to consider in this step

first of all are you sure you're

answering the right question bear in

mind that your perspective

and the execs perspective on things

could be vastly different

for instance you know while you're

looking at a house they may be looking

at an

entire city it's important to calibrate

your answer with their perspective

and understand the context for the

question

another way of thinking about this is

how do you keep the exact attention

when you're answering people in general

only engage when they're learning

laughing or disagreeing with you so it's

a useful way

it's a useful way of thinking from the

execs point of view

now that may seem a little bit abstract

so let me

go through an example of an answer that

goes from bad to good

the first answer here isn't super useful

uh we are concerned about meeting the

new manufacturing standards this is

basically just what everyone knows

already

and then it progresses down to become

better and better right we should take

steps to meet the new manufacturing

standards which begs the question well

what steps

we can change our processes to meet the

new manufacturing standards

well the obvious question will be well

in what way

and finally as we get to four and five

we're getting to the details now

we should devote extra resources to

full-time heads now to redesign our

processes

to meet the new manufacturing standards

this is very clear now

we could do this even better though if

we add deadline at the very end so that

the last example here is

a very good summary

and it's a good punch line

all right so let's move on to step two

which is to group and summarize your

supporting arguments

our audience whether they're listening

or they're reading

will naturally begin to group and

summarize their arguments and ideas in

order to remember them

so you might as well help them do it and

make your overall recommendation more

effective and memorable

in the diagram that we used before the

key is that ideas form

a pyramid shape if you will under a

single thought

the single thought is the answer to the

executive's question

and underneath that single thought

you're supposed to group and summarize

the next level of supporting ideas and

arguments

then for each supporting id and argument

you can go even further right so it's a

recursive thing where you

talk about the supporting arguments and

you have a level underneath until you

get to the get to all of your arguments

now for folks who've been in consulting

this will not

uh this would look very familiar this is

called the pyramid principle

the idea is that at any level of the

pyramid there must be a summary of the

ideas grouped below them

now it turns out that there are two

major ways to group ideas

and this may not be super intuitive so

it's good to

walk through them the first way of

grouping ideas

is deductive reasoning deduction

[Music]

is the reasoning process of drawing a

logical conclusion from general

arguments

so for the example that we have here hey

birds fly

i'm a bird well i'm a bird therefore i

fly

makes sense right now another way to

draw logical conclusions is by inductive

reasoning and this takes specific

information and makes a broader

generalization the conclusion of an

inductive argument

is considered to be only probable

because

you are listing out the evidence

underneath which may not be exhaustive

now that may seem like a flaw but a

great advantage of using induction

for arguments is that the reader can

easily follow since the conclusion

is clear from the very beginning

so so the inductive reasoning is

therefore

recommended for making arguments in the

top part of your pyramid

now here is a visual comparison of the

two ways

of grouping ideas as mentioned on the

left a deductive

takes the user on a journey right a

leads to b leads to c

and therefore we arrive at d right

inductive reasoning states the answer

upfront the answer is d

and it's supported by a b and c right so

you see the difference between the two

now this is important so it's worth

repeating i wrote this all out now

given a choice use induction rather than

deduction because

uh it is easier for the reader to absorb

it's less effort to comprehend the

tendency

with folks is to want to present your

thinking in the order that you developed

it

which is generally a deductive process

here's an example to illustrate the

difference

now uh this is the deductive example and

it's actually very well structured right

so

we use three criteria to judge whether

to buy their warehouse you know that's a

b and c

this building meets those criteria um

yeah so therefore we should buy right so

it makes a lot of logical sense

now in contrast here is what

the logic looks like if we structure

this in the inductive

way so here we state the recommendation

up front by the pacific avenue warehouse

because it meets our criteria

and here is our criteria it's on the

corner it's larger than 5000 square feet

it's under 10 dollars a square foot as

you can see it's much clearer

when information and recommendations are

structured this way

now there are uh a few additional things

to consider as you go through

step two first it just so happens that

the magic number of ideas in a group is

three

right uh there's uh i'm sure there's

scientific reasoning behind it

uh but you know what i found is that

whenever you're trying to persuade a

senior person to do something

always present three reasons not two not

four three

uh i'll just say that you know whenever

i force myself to structure in this way

i've gotten people's attention

and i sound like i know what i'm talking

about so it has worked for me

the other thing to consider is whether

your thoughts are structured logically

and one test is whether the ideas truly

belong together

and nothing has been left out this is

called mutually exclusive collectively

exhaustive

now this is what it might look like

visually if

things aren't working you know very well

for example if your ideas are not

mutually exclusive

you risk confusing the audience you

might wonder hey uh

you know haven't you listed the same

thing already like isn't there some

overlap

when your ideas aren't collectively

exhaustive your audience starts

wondering what is missing hey there's

obviously

a big piece missing here are there other

things that you're missing

and you don't want that to derail the

conversation

all right finally we get to step three

which is logically structuring your

writing

you want to ensure that the ideas you

bring together under each group actually

belong together

by the same level of importance and

follow some logical structure

there are a few ways of logically

ordering ideas that belong in a safe

group

for example you could do the time order

right if there's a sequence of events

that form a cause and effect

relationship

you should present ideas in time order

another way of structuring

is the structural order break a singular

thought down into its parts and you

ensure that it's covering all the major

supporting ideas

and finally there's also a degree order

you can present supporting ideas in rank

order of importance

most to least importance now uh

over the overarching uh issue though is

everyone loves a good story and execs

are no exception

and it turns out that stories all always

follow the same pattern you know there's

a there's a situation

right there's a complication or a

problem and there's a key

question that you want to answer and

finally it is answered and everyone is

happy

so your introduction should be

structured exactly like a story

in practice this is what it might look

like the introduction starts with a

situation what the audience would agree

to be true

it anchors the audience in a specific

time and space and the chronology

is clear

so just like you do with stories it's

the same with

you know business matters as well so

every business story ever told

that i've seen follows this pattern

you've got situation complication

question and answer the situation

answers

hey what are we talking about uh you

know where's the starting point for the

discussion

the complication answer is why are we

talking about this like why now like

what's

what's the big deal and then there is

usually

a question you know there's there's a

question that we want to get answered

and finally uh well what is the answer

stated up front what's the key point

now all of this may sound a little vague

i realize

so let's look at a few examples

now here's an example of what it might

look like if you're doing a pitch

so in this situation uh as you know work

in our apartment has increased twenty

percent a year

nevertheless in line with hq policy we

have kept the head count to just 14

heads the result has been overtime and

we can work

et cetera so uh what is the complication

the complication is that uh we need to

bring this

to your attention now because the

backlog has now reached 22 weeks

the field is finding that unacceptable

and we got to do something about it

and what is the question or should i

approve this

and the answer is yes please approve

now here's an example of what it might

look like if you're choosing among

alternatives and this happens a lot

when you have you know options that

you're looking at

so in this case the situation is this

the recent ruling that a

300 horsepower motor is the most

efficient for drilling oil in cool

temperatures

has led our largest customer to announce

that he will switch from using a 200

horsepower motor to our competitors

model okay well

what's the complication well we've got

three possible responses

we can a cut the prices we can b we

engineer the

engine to be 300 horsepower and three we

can purpose design a new motor

okay so what's the question the question

is well which alternative would make

sense

and the answer could be any one of them

depending on the situation

all right so here is an example of what

you would

you might do if this was an update so

the situation

in this example is this in our last

progress review we told you that we have

a capacity problem

it's a complication well you said you

thought that this would not be a problem

for long because you believe the

competition is shortly going out of

business

he asked us to investigate and now we've

completed our investigation

the question is well what did we find

the answer is

in this case unfortunately well you

still have a problem

okay so let me so that was the three

steps

uh so let's wrap up and review some of

the key tips that i've gone over

first uh keep it's important to keep the

executive start process in mind

uh and as you know as mentioned you know

at their level

almost everything is a trust and

leadership problem they either will

trust you to get it done or change

leadership right so this is

a very high level way of thinking about

this

to communicate in a structured way with

a busy executive you should start with

the answer today to the

executive's question first and then list

your supporting arguments

this top-down structure as i've

mentioned will feel unnatural

but practice makes perfect now as you

get more practice you may start noticing

patterns

and communication as well

now the specific topic may be different

the way you create the storyline might

be similar

so here are a few common patterns you

know an action plan

explain how to solve a problem the pitch

that i mentioned before

choosing among alternatives updates

and a useful way of framing this is

usually red green yellow

across projects

all right well let me end with some

further reading that might be useful if

you're interested in in

the first one here is the minto pyramid

principle it's a classic by barbara

minto

it goes over many of these concepts and

has

benefited me a lot the second

example here is the so what strategy

this is a newer book that talks about

patterns and the classic storylines

you could leverage for your

communication and i found that to be

very useful too

all right well thank you very much i

hope this has been very useful

[Music]