The first step to any IAM initiative is obtaining buy-in from stakeholders. The core challenge in communicating IAM initiatives is that they are highly technical, yet the stakeholders have varying technical capabilities. It’s easy to fall into the technological trap, and when this happens, your audience will not understand the proposal, and it won’t get the green light. This article explores three keys to success that we use at GCA to ensure communication on IAM initiatives is easy to consume.
1. Target Audience
The most effective thing you can do is create a presentation catered to your audience. IAM projects will always have a set scope, for example:
- Connect to Active Directory for provisioning.
- Set up Single Sign-On (SSO) to 10 applications.
- Create a workflow to manage contractor accounts.
Although the work does not change, the meaning of the project varies with each audience. The CFO will be interested in the capital investment and projected ROI. The IT Help Desk Manager will care about the impact on daily ticket volumes. The Director of Compliance will want to know how they can provide evidence to auditors.
In the end, if you are communicating an IAM initiative to multiple teams, you will likely need various flavors of the same presentation. Creating numerous presentations might appear to be unnecessary work, but it is an essential step you need to take. The more effectively you can deliver your message, the more likely it will be well received. In the end, it will likely save you time by not needing multiple meetings to get the key points across.
2. Be Concise
The next step is to be concise; keep your presentation as minimal as possible. With any presentation, internal or external, you are delivering an experience to the consumer. If you create visuals and text that are easy to consume, it will be appreciated, and it will maintain your audience’s attention.
As an example, let’s say you have a slide titled “The RIO of Project X.” This typo “RIO” v. “ROI” is going to lose your audience. The words coming out of your mouth might be profound, but everyone will be thinking about the typo.
 |
 |
What’s Wrong:
|
What’s Right:
|
3. Be One Step Ahead
The third recommendation for creating compelling presentations is to be one step ahead of your audience. You might have a brilliant presentation that clearly explains the project, and it is both concise and catered to your audience. When you reach the end of your presentation, you may have achieved the goal of having everyone on the same page with the value clearly illustrated. You could end here, but you can quickly turn a compelling presentation into an exceptional one with just a pinch more effort.
The key here is to get into the minds of your audience and think about their potential questions. These are all intelligent people you are presenting to, and in all likelihood, they will hit you with a question to challenge the pitch. If you can figure out what those questions might be and beat them to the punch, you will earn the trust and confidence of your audience.
Some examples to prepare for:
- What are other similar companies doing?
- What is the three-year cost of ownership?
- What companies are in the Gartner top quadrants?