Answer What You Can, Directly and Briefly

Executives asked a question. Answer it, not your case.

Mid- and senior-level technical professionals often treat a question from executives as an invitation to defend the whole analysis. That instinct forgets whose meeting it is. Executives did not convene to evaluate your rigor. They convened to decide, and your answer belongs to them, not to your case.

Give Executives What They Asked For

Executives and boards ask questions to test judgment, not to audit method. Give them the direct answer first. If nuance is required, say so in one sentence and offer to follow up. Their question is a request, not an invitation to perform the whole analysis on their time.

Executives Will Tell You What They Need

You will not answer everything completely in the room, and that is fine. Say what you know, say what you do not, and say when you will have the rest. Executives set the pace of the conversation. Let them.

The Tip: Lead With the Direct Answer

Treat each question as belonging to executives, not as a doorway into your presentation. Answer as many of their questions as you can, directly and briefly, and be honest about the ones you cannot. Directness is a form of respect for their time and their authority to decide.

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The first E in FINESSE stands for empathy. Empathy means answering what executives need from you, not what would make you feel most thorough. Are you answering their question, or performing your case?

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JD Solomon is the founder of JD Solomon, Inc., the creator of the FINESSE Fishbone Diagram®, and the co-creator of the SOAP criticality method^©.