Chapter 4: Know Your Audience

Case teams often say: "We're presenting to ACME Corporation." You aren't. You are presenting to people. Perhaps:

the CEO;
the CFO;
the CMO;
the board;
an investment committee;
a city council;
a not-for-profit leadership team.

Those people have different responsibilities, incentives, concerns, and definitions of success. If you understand those differences, you can communicate the same recommendation much more effectively.

Don't Present to the Company

Imagine the case says, "You are advising the CEO of ACME Corporation." That immediately tells you something. The CEO is likely thinking about:

overall strategy;
growth;
competitive position;
profitability;
organisational capability;
major risk;
long-term value.

The CEO probably does not need a three-minute explanation of every operational calculation your team completed. That detail may still matter. But it must be translated into executive meaning.

Think Like the Decision-Maker

A useful question is, if we're sitting in this person's chair, what would make us approve or reject this recommendation? That question changes the presentation. Instead of simply asking: "What did we find?" ask: "What would this person need to see?"

Different Audiences, Different Concerns

CEO

A CEO may care about:

strategy;
growth;
profitability;
competitive advantage;
organisational capability;
risk;
long-term direction.

A useful CEO message might be: this strategy creates the strongest long-term growth opportunity while building on ACME's existing capabilities.

CFO

A CFO may care more heavily about:

investment;
cash flow;
margins;
profitability;
return;
funding;
risk;
sensitivity.

A useful CFO message might be: the investment requires $5 million upfront, produces positive NPV, and remains viable under our downside scenario. Same recommendation, different emphasis.

CMO

A CMO may focus more on:

customer needs;
brand;
acquisition;
retention;
customer lifetime value;
market positioning;
channels.

A useful CMO message might be: retention among high-value customers is deteriorating, making the customer experience the most important lever to restore profitable growth.

Operations Leader

An operations executive may care about:

capacity;
processes;
technology;
staffing;
timelines;
execution risk;
scalability.

They may be asking, "Can we actually do this?"

Board of Directors

A board may focus on:

strategic direction;
governance;
risk;
capital allocation;
long-term value;
stakeholder implications.

They may need more emphasis on why this decision is appropriate at the organisational level.

Government or Public-Sector Leader

The definition of value may change significantly. Consider:

taxpayers;
public value;
regulation;
accessibility;
equity;
political feasibility;
stakeholder impact;
long-term sustainability.

Profitability may still matter; it may simply not be the primary objective.

Not-for-Profit Leadership

Possible priorities include:

The presentation must reflect the organisation's definition of success.

Audience Does Not Mean Pandering

Understanding the audience does not mean telling them only what they want to hear. If the financial analysis challenges the CEO's preferred strategy, say so. If operational realities make an attractive marketing idea unrealistic, explain why. Audience awareness means communicating the truth in a way that connects to the audience's responsibilities and decision needs. That is very different from simply agreeing with them.

Understand Their Incentives

People interpret decisions through their responsibilities. Consider a recommendation to automate a major business process.

CEO may see strategic scalability.
CFO may see cost savings and capital requirements.
Operations may see process redesign.
HR may see workforce disruption.
Employees may see uncertainty about their jobs.
Customers may see faster service or reduced human interaction.

Same strategy. Different perspectives. Strong presentations anticipate these differences.

Identify the Decision Lens

Ask what lens is this person most likely to evaluate our recommendation through? Possible lenses include:

financial;
strategic;
customer;
operational;
stakeholder;
ethical;
risk;
political;
social impact.

This should influence which Evidence receives the most attention.

Speak Their Language

Audience awareness also affects terminology. A CFO may immediately understand:

NPV;
IRR;
working capital;
EBITDA.

A community stakeholder may not. Likewise, a technical executive may expect more operational detail than a general board audience. Your goal is not to make the presentation sound more complicated. It is to make the message accessible without becoming simplistic.

The Audience Evidence Test

Different audiences may require different Evidence. Imagine the same recommendation: Launch a customer loyalty initiative.

CEO Evidence

strategic fit;
competitive differentiation;
growth opportunity.

CFO Evidence

investment;
incremental profit;
ROI;
payback.

CMO Evidence

retention;
customer segments;
lifetime value;
engagement.

Operations Evidence

systems;
staffing;
process changes;
implementation timeline.

The recommendation has not changed. The proof that matters most has.

The Audience Test

Complete three statements before building the deck.

Our audience needs to believe that __________.
Their biggest Concern will probably be __________.
The Evidence that will matter most to them is __________.

Then add two more:

The question they are most likely to ask is __________.
The reason they might reject our recommendation is __________.

These five statements can dramatically improve how you structure the presentation.

Build for the Toughest Question

Once you understand the audience, ask what would make this person uncomfortable with our recommendation? Perhaps:

the investment is too large;
the financial assumptions are aggressive;
implementation is too slow;
capabilities are missing;
stakeholders may resist;
the strategy is too risky.

Do not hide that issue. Build the presentation so the Evidence addresses it. That transforms audience awareness into strategic communication.

One Audience, Multiple Judges

Case competitions create an interesting challenge. The case may say you are presenting to the CEO, but the judging panel may include people with backgrounds in:

finance;
marketing;
consulting;
entrepreneurship;
operations.

Stay in the role established by the case. But build an argument robust enough for different judges to evaluate. This is another reason why strong presentations combine: Strategy + Evidence + Financials + Implementation + Risk. Different judges may focus on different elements. The whole argument needs to hold together.

Discover Your MAD Skills Principle

Don't present to a company. Present to a decision-maker.

Understand:

what they care about,
what they fear,
what they need to decide,
What evidence will make them believe you?

The Bottom Line

The same recommendation can be communicated very differently depending on the audience. The question is not simply, "What do we want to say?" It is what this decision-maker needs from us to make a confident decision. When you can answer that question, your presentation becomes more relevant, more focused, and much more persuasive.

MAD Skills Drill

Before building the story, complete this quick team exercise.

The Presentation Decode

Our audience is:
They need to decide:
The most important thing they need to understand is:
We need them to believe:
Their biggest Concern is likely to be:
Our strongest Evidence is:
The question they are most likely to ask is:
We should leave this for Q&A:
We can leave this out entirely:

If the team agrees on these answers, you are ready to move from deciphering the communication challenge to building the story.