Speaking to senior stakeholders in English

Senior people don’t need more detail from you. They need the conclusion, what it means for them, and what you need from them, in about a minute. That’s good news if English is your second language: the shorter and clearer the message, the less your English matters.

01Bottom line up front

The US Army’s writing standard calls it BLUF: bottom line up front. Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle, which consultants have used for decades, says the same: the answer at the top, the reasons under it, the data under them.

One exception: if the person has no context at all, give one sentence of context first, then the bottom line.

02Say what you need

• Say in your first sentence whether you need a decision, an approval or nothing at all: “This is an update. No action needed.”
• Expect to be interrupted, and be ready to finish in half the time you planned.
• If they ask for something specific, give them that first, even if you prepared something else.
• Write the three-sentence version before the meeting. If they want more, they’ll ask.

03Status updates

A good status update takes a few minutes at most: the overall verdict, one or two highlights, and the one or two risks leaders need to know about.

• Use a colour if your company does: green means on track, red means you’ll miss the date, the budget or the scope, and amber is everything in between.
• Give a date or a number wherever you can.
• End with what you need from them, even if it’s nothing.

04Escalating without blame

1. Escalate early, and to your own manager first.
2. Use a fixed order: the facts, the impact, what you’ve tried, the options and your recommendation.
3. Describe what happened, not who caused it. Naming a person turns an escalation into a complaint.
4. Make it obvious that it’s an escalation. Put “Decision needed” in the subject line. Don’t soften it so much that nobody notices.
5. Brief the key people one to one before the meeting where bad news lands. Consultants call this pre-wiring; leaders call it “no surprises”.

05Questions you can’t answer

• Don’t guess. One wrong number costs more credibility than “I don’t know”.
• Say what you do know, then give a specific time for the rest: “I’ll send it by end of day.” Then send it.
• Paraphrase the question first if you’re not sure what they’re asking. It also gives you a moment to think.
• Answer yes or no questions with yes or no first, then the reason.
• If it’s someone else’s area, say so and connect them: “Maria owns that. I’ll introduce you.”

06Before the meeting

• Find out what this person cares about this quarter, and connect your message to it.
• Prepare the answers to the three questions they’re most likely to ask.
• Say your opening sentence out loud. If it doesn’t fit in one breath, cut it.
• Decide what you’ll leave out if you only get half the time.