Of the quite a few vitally critical roles and obligations of a chief monetary officer, the capacity to supply persuasive monetary presentations would most likely not make the top rated 5. But as quite a few CFOs would attest, these presentations can make or break professions. Supply a persuasive and persuasive presentation and you are a hero. Supply a rambling, unfocused a person, and that following promotion is in jeopardy.
About my years in tv, the two as a studio executive and a producer, I’ve experienced the fantastic fortune to work intimately with people today who can go an viewers.
Currently, as a communications guide to large-profile business enterprise leaders, I work a person-on-a person with CFOs and CEOs who have to have to converse persuasive messaging to critical audiences, the two smaller and substantial. In this article are 5 ideas to enable guarantee a wonderful presentation each individual time.
one. Craft your presentation for your viewers.
Each individual quarter, CFOs are so centered on collecting the information, verifying its validity, and generating the requisite slides to current that they really do not contemplate who will be on the getting finish of that details. The way you current to analysts and shareholders is likely pretty diverse from presenting very similar details to the board of directors. Reverse engineering your presentation from the point of view of the viewers is a crucial to start with step.
2. Have a obvious concept.
Once you have a mental image of who will be the receivers of the concept, it’s critical to invest time thinking about the major concept you are on the lookout to converse. It is very important constantly to maintain that concept as your North Star due to the fact it will variety the basis for delivering it to the viewers. If it’s an insider-based viewers, your concept can be much more in depth and technical. If it’s an outsider viewers, you will likely have to acquire sophisticated details and simplify it.
3. Generate a narrative.
Figures inform a tale, and stories can be a potent device to enable illuminate the numbers engagingly and memorably. When I work with CFOs in making ready them for presentations, getting them to imagine about the numbers as a narrative can in some cases be complicated.
A recently minted CEO that I just lately labored with advised me an off-hand tale about an working experience she experienced at her previous organization. Unbeknownst to her, this tale dovetailed properly into a stage she was hoping to make for an future quarterly earnings simply call. We invested time tightening it up for the simply call, strategized about its placement, and labored on weaving it in seamlessly.
The opinions we acquired later on was that the tale was a person of the top rated takeaways from that simply call. When hoping to generate a narrative, imagine of an working experience from your work or individual existence that can generate a visible link to your concept.
4. Anticipate thoughts.
Money presentations are two-way discussions. A lot more typically than not, CFO’s really do not invest plenty of time anticipating the thoughts that could come up with every single slide or piece of details.
It’s crucial to set you in the posture of the board member, trader, or analyst and ask you what thoughts could come up. Arrive up with a record and craft the respond to in writing. But make confident you also consist of the most complicated thoughts you can imagine of. If they really do not get asked, that is wonderful. But you’ll go into your presentation with much more self confidence knowing that you are armed for anything at all.
five. Rehearse.
John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach, famously reported, “Practice does not make great. Fantastic practice would make great.” Devoid of suitable rehearsal, all the previous work you’ve finished will be for naught. It’s critical to depart you plenty of time to practice delivering the information and crafting the narrative.
When I work with customers, I make confident we rehearse by replicating the working experience as significantly as doable. That means practising in the similar place with the similar tools you’ll be using for the real presentation. Require a reliable colleague on the group and, if you can, report it. Whilst quite a few people today really do not like to see by themselves on video, this more step separates a fantastic rehearsal from a wonderful a person. Talk to you, does it experience extensive? Does it make feeling? Are there weak factors that could be strengthened? The only way to obtain out is with a formal, recorded rehearsal.
I’m self-confident that incorporating some or all of these factors will pay back dividends in your following monetary presentation.
Rob Morhaim is president of Chicago-based Morhaim Media Consulting, which functions with large-profile business enterprise executives on helpful communications and presentation skills.