Don't Let Your Audience Off the Hook

A big part of my work is helping people present with impact. I’ll deliver a workshop, and then the participants return to work and prepare a real presentation they have to give inside their organization, often to senior leaders. We meet again to run a practice round before the real thing.

Almost every time, the ending doesn’t ask the audience to do anything. These are capable people who have built a genuine case for a decision, and they are about to make it in front of executives. The analysis is sound. Then they close by summarizing what they just said and stop, without ever asking their audience to act.

I see this constantly. When I teach closings, most people assume the close means summarizing what they just said. They restate three points and sit down. Others believe the action is obvious, so saying it out loud feels redundant. They have a recommendation, a proposal, a specific next step they want approved, and they trust the audience to connect the dots on their own.

The audience rarely does. So the presenters say “thank you for your time” and miss an opportunity.

The best salespeople know you have to ask for the sale

Skilled salespeople understand that they must ask for the sale. You can build rapport, diagnose the problem, and lay out a great solution, but if you never ask the buyer to commit, you have had a nice conversation. Good salespeople are trained to ask anyway, even when it feels uncomfortable. Most presenters never get that training, so they never practice moving through the discomfort. 

You can move through that discomfort too. If you want your audience to take action, you have to ask for it directly, out loud, and before the meeting ends. 

The ask doesn’t have to be the whole idea at once. If you expect resistance, you can ask for a smaller step the audience can reasonably agree to, which I wrote about in The Power of Little Victories in Driving Change. That post covers how to size the request when the decision maker isn't ready for your big idea. Here, the point is simpler: whatever the right-sized ask is, you have to make it.

Why presenters don’t ask

I have two theories about why otherwise capable people skip the ask.

The first is that they think they are asking. They end with “I really believe this could make a difference” or “I'm excited about where this could go,” and in their own mind, that counts as a request. A real ask names the action and the decision-maker. “I’d like your approval to move forward by Friday” is an ask. “I’m hopeful about this” is a wish.

The second reason, I suspect, operates below the surface. Some presenters avoid asking because they are afraid of the answer. If you ask, the decision-maker might say no, and a no in the room feels like a verdict. So instead they leave it open, walk out, and hope an email will arrive later with a yes.

That email usually doesn’t come.

A no gives you something silence never will

Asking takes the risk that you will hear no. I think that risk is worth taking, because a no gives you data.

A no tends to come with a reason, and the reason tells you what to do next. “No, not right now” points to timing, and you can come back later. “No, I’m not convinced the numbers hold up” points to the idea itself, and you can revise it. “No, this isn’t a fit for us” tells you to drop it and spend your energy elsewhere. Each of those is more useful than walking out with a vague feeling that things went well.

When you don’t ask, you trade clear information for false comfort. You get to keep believing the answer might be yes.

And sometimes the answer is yes. You will never know unless you ask.

I think we should put our decision-makers on the spot more often. Make the recommendation, name the action, and ask for it before anyone says thank you. The next time you prepare a presentation meant to change something, practice making the ask. Don't let them off the hook.