Selling Security

Thomas R. Peltier

Sell Your Message

An effective information security awareness program will depend on how well the message is communicated to management and users. While many of us are confident in the importance of the message we will be presenting, often times the message is missed because of other factors. To be as effective as possible, it might be helpful to identify potential barriers to effective communication.

• Image - Dress as the audience is dressed, only a little better. While many organizations have converted to the business casual dress it is important for you to exhibit the proper respect and professionalism to your audience.
• Prepare - Nothing will turn an audience off quicker than a presenter that stumbles around for materials and/or looses his or her place. Make certain that all audiovisual is working properly (get there early and test everything).
• Present - Do not read your presentation. Use bullet points or brief phrases to speak from. With any luck your audience will know how to read. Avoid reading verbatim the presentation slides. Speak to the audience as if you are having a conversation with them.
• Jargon - As information security professionals, we speak a very strange language. Many of us have also come from the Information Systems environment and this will compound the problem. I strongly recommend that you practice the presentation in front of a select focus group.
• Audience - Know your audience and speak to them in terms they will understand. Each and every department has its own language. Do your homework and learn what terms are important to them and use them correctly in your presentation.
• TLAs - A TLA is a Three Letter Acronym (TLA) for three letter acronyms. The next time you attend a meeting, keep a running score of the TLAs and FLAs (four letter acronyms) that a bandied about. Say what you mean and keep the TLAs to a minimum and define them before using them
• Idioms - Be careful with language. Our organizations have many different ethnic groups and slang terms may be misunderstood or even offensive. Be mindful of those in your audience and select your terms wisely.
• Priorities - As security professionals, we feel that security is the organization’s most important objective. However, Purchasing, Accounting, Payroll, Human Resources, etc. have other priorities.
• Schedule - Just as every department has a unique language and priorities, they also have deadlines. Schedule your presentations around their busy periods. Try to become part of a regular staff meeting if possible.
• Time - Keep the awareness sessions brief and businesslike. At Gettysburg, Edward Everett was the featured speaker and spoke for nearly two hours. President Lincoln spoke second and in less than five minutes and the world remembers his Gettysburg Address. Remember it is quality not quantity that will make a successful presentation.

You Add Value!

Almost every one of us is overhead. The key to being successful is to identify what value it is that you do that supports the business objectives or mission of your organization. In his book, How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less, Milo O. Frank, tells us that the attention span of the average individual is 30 seconds. To fulfill this limited time frame of attention span, you will need to get the message out to management quickly.

This 30-second message is also known as the elevator message. That is, you get on the elevator at work and the CEO is standing there. The CEO sees your identification badge and asks you what you do for the organization. You need to be ready to tell this person, in business terms, what value you add to the bottom line.

Last week’s question
What ship will you find at the Shelburne Museum?

Answer: The Ticonderoga

Winner: Joseph Puchalski

This week’s question
What is the oldest building on the NU campus?

Current competition standings:

Andrey N. Chernyaev: 4 wins
Matt Bambrick: 3 wins
Dianne Tarpy: 2 wins
Sam Moore
Autumn Crossett
Gil Varney, Jr.
Glen Calvo
Thomas Reardon
Sherryl Fraser
Srinivas Chandrasekar
Marc Ariano
Linda Rosa
Joanna D'Aquanni
Bill Lampe
Srinivas Bedre
Christian Sandy
Joseph Puchalski