Any decision-making forum requires work done before the day of presenting. A strong deck and storyline are essential, yes. But are they enough? No.

Here are 3 essential strategies for any decision-making forum.

1️⃣ 𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦
👉 Reach out to function leaders and ask them to explain something to you (irrelevant to your function).
--> 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥.

👉 Run your presentation by them a week in advance.
--> 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝.

👉 Ask them where they think others will push back.
--> 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵.

2️⃣ 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠
👉 When others speak, take "quoted" notes using their terminology and use it when you speak.
--> Speak their language, they will listen

👉 Use their own words in the presentation to build on your points: "Ahmed, remember when you said XYZ...etc."
--> They will be more inclined to agree with you.

3️⃣𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 & 𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗧
👉 Take their feedback: Repeat what they said, reword it, add to it, and say we will rework and get back to you.
--> When you do this, you don't come across as defensive.

👉 Actually get back to them after the meeting.
--> Proving you weren't just dismissing them.

👉 Thank them for the feedback and show how it helped elevate your strategy/plans/...etc.
--> This way they know you are a true team player.

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𝗔𝘁 𝗠𝗚 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 C𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁.
𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵 :)
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