Why Senior Executives Still Struggle With High-Stakes Presentations — Lessons From a Real-World “Two-Minute Leadership Test” in Tokyo

In a world where business moves at red-ocean speed, it is shocking how often senior executives—people who guide global strategy, manage thousands of employees, and compete at boardroom level—fall apart during a simple two-minute presentation.

At a recent high-profile annual event in Tokyo, a group of very senior international executives competed in a brief on-stage pitch to win the audience’s vote. As a Master Trainer in プレゼンテーション研修, I always hope this will be the year I witness excellence: strong storytelling, persuasive structure, executive presence.

Instead, it was another demonstration that rank and title do not equal communication mastery. These performances are a real-time indicator of how well leadership in Japan and abroad is keeping up with the demands of modern business—and once again, many fell short.

Mini-Summary: Even elite executives often lack the presentation and persuasion skills required to lead effectively in today’s competitive market.

Executives consistently underestimate how much gestures influence clarity and authority. At this event:

• Many held their hands at stomach or groin level

• Some hid their arms behind their backs

• Almost none used gestures deliberately to reinforce their ideas

High-impact gestures must be:

• Visible (held high enough to be seen across a large venue)

• Purposeful (aligned with key words and key phrases)

• Time-bound (held for no more than 15 seconds to avoid visual fatigue)

• Non-aggressive (no finger-pointing; use open palms instead)

Gestures are not decoration—they are a force multiplier. Ignore them, and your message loses half its power.

Mini-Summary: When gestures are low, hidden, or random, credibility collapses—use elevated, intentional movements to amplify your message.

Eye contact is one of the most powerful persuasion tools in プレゼンテーション研修, yet it is often misused.

What these executives did:

• Vague scanning

• Looking above the audience

• Engaging no one directly

What they should have done:

• Lock eyes with one person for 6 seconds

• Move to a new target, ideally selecting people spread across the room

• Use “ripple effect engagement”—when you choose someone at the back, the ten people around them feel seen

With this method, a speaker can personally engage eleven people per minute, even in a room of hundreds.

Mini-Summary: Eye contact creates connection, credibility, and control. Without it, the speaker appears distant, uncertain, and unpersuasive.

One aspiring presenter—naturally soft-spoken—asked me for advice minutes before going on stage. My guidance was simple:
Increase your vocal power.

He feared it would sound like yelling. It didn’t. It simply conveyed:

• Confidence

• Authority

• Leadership

He became the highest vote-getter of the night.

Contrast that with others whose voices trailed off weakly at the end—a guaranteed way to leave a forgettable impression. A strong vocal crescendo at the conclusion is essential.

Mini-Summary: Your voice is your leadership. Increasing vocal strength immediately elevates authority and audience trust.

A microphone is a basic tool, yet nearly every speaker misjudged the distance:

• Standing too far back

• Speaking above or beside the pickup zone

• Losing clarity and reducing impact

A microphone must be:

• Close enough to capture full vocal resonance

• Aligned properly with the mouth

• Used consistently, without drifting away

Poor mic technique weakens presence and diminishes vote-winning power.

Mini-Summary: If you don’t control the microphone, you lose the room—mastering basic tech is part of executive professionalism.

One speaker unintentionally angled his feet about 15 degrees off center. That small error caused him to physically close off one-third of the audience.

Foot placement seems trivial, yet it dictates:

• Your line of sight

• Your shoulder orientation

• Your perceived inclusiveness

Stand at a clean 90-degree angle toward the audience to remain open, balanced, and fully engaged.

Mini-Summary: Poor foot alignment sends an unintended signal: “You don’t matter.” Always face the full room.

The low point of the evening?
A President of a major global company read every word of his two-minute talk from a handheld page.

This communicates instantly:

• Lack of confidence

• Lack of preparation

• Lack of leadership presence

It is not about memory—it is about credibility. Reading kills engagement and destroys trust. Unsurprisingly, he received the lowest vote count.

Mini-Summary: Reading short speeches signals incompetence at the senior level—leaders must speak to people, not read at them.

Despite their impressive careers, not one executive used storytelling.
No vivid examples.
No personal anecdotes.
No narrative hooks.

This was a wasted opportunity. Storytelling is the fastest way to:

• Engage hearts and minds

• Demonstrate experience

• Make complex ideas simple

• Stay memorable

Leaders are the guides of their organizations’ future. If they cannot tell stories, they cannot lead change.

Mini-Summary: Without storytelling, even intelligent content becomes forgettable—stories make your leadership message stick.

If senior leaders cannot persuade a room for two minutes, how effectively are they persuading:

• Their executive teams?

• Their shareholder groups?

• Their employees?

• Their market partners?

Persuasion power is not optional. It is a core leadership competency in 日本企業 and 外資系企業 alike.

Mini-Summary: If leaders cannot present convincingly, they cannot lead persuasively—training is not optional in a competitive economy.

• Gestures, eye contact, and vocal power are foundational—not optional—for executive presence.

• Reading short speeches destroys credibility; practice and preparation are non-negotiable.

• Storytelling remains the most powerful leadership skill missing in senior ranks.

• Proper microphone and body alignment create immediate improvements in authority.

• Persuasion is leadership: invest in developing it through プレゼンテーション研修 and leadership coaching.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.