I’ve said this a few times covering different pieces and thoughts, but I feel like it’s worth repeating.
To define your role as the executive in charge of a topic, talk in the language of the audience and not in the language of your team.
Putting yourself in the shoes of the audience and using their vocabulary takes more work — but it yields far superior results. Not only in increasing the likelihood that real communication happened (vs. multiple people saying things) but also in making you be perceived as more knowledgeable and more helpful.
It takes practice and it takes time, but this is a habit you will want to build sooner than later. Understanding that people are doing this for themselves gives you clarity on why it has such a big impact. Driving up your own social sensitivity increases not only the impact you have personally, it can set the stage for a more effective team as well.
Meg Bear 