How to Present The IT Story

We feel your pain. You need to make a major presentation to your organization – which includes everyone from your CEO to the CFO to the rank-and-file in all departments – to “sell” the audience on an IT initiative. Or, perhaps you've been called to present to your board of directors for the first time.

You realize a long, dreary speech from the “tech boss” isn't going to get the crowd “pumped up” from the get-go. The solution? Don't give a long, dreary speech, according to Peter Guber.

With a proven track record in the entertainment, sports, and new media industries, Guber's successes are often directly tied to his command of “telling to win” during his presentations. In the book, Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story (Crown Business/Available now), Guber reveals that you don't have to be a Hollywood hotshot to dazzle audiences with your speeches.

There are many, highly transferable qualities of winning presentations that CIOs and other senior leaders can adapt for their own engagements. In the end, it's all about connecting by telling a purposeful story. “Stories emotionally transport the audience,” says Guber, “so they don't even realize they're receiving a hidden message.”

After an extensive history of leadership with Columbia Pictures, Casablanca Records and Filmworks, Sony Pictures and other high-profile entertainment organizations, Guber is now chairman/CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group. Films he produced or executive produced have been nominated for more than 50 Oscars. (Including Mandalay’s The Kids Are All Right, which was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture.) Guber is also owner and co-executive chairman of the NBA franchise, the Golden State Warriors.