Five Keys to Killer Financial Presentations
By Christina McKenna
CFOs and other financial professionals, this is it! Never before has your expertise, insight and leadership been more needed than in the wake of the pandemic. But to be seen, not just as a subject matter expert, but as a LEADER, you’ll need to communicate your ideas with clarity, conviction and confidence.
Here are five Keys to Killer Financial Presentations that will help you instantly elevate your communication game.
1. Before all else, define your goal. Rather than thinking of a presentation as an obligation to fulfill an assignment, view it as an opportunity to achieve a goal. Take a moment to define the goal or outcome for which you’re shooting.
Tip: You may not ever literally state your goal to your audience, but you should keep it front and center in your mind while you’re developing and delivering your presentation.
2. Come up with a “takeaway.” Just as you crafted a one-sentence thesis for each high school essay, so too should you have a one-sentence “take-away” for your presentation. This is the one idea you want ringing in your audience’s ears during and long after your remarks.
Tip: Unlike the goal, you WILL want to state this out loud and more than once.
3. Build your case. Now that you’re clear on your goal and the “takeaway” sentence you’ll use to advance it, you can build your case with arguments, slides and other elements.
Tip: Use full sentences to title slides to be sure you’re reinforcing your “takeaway” and that the audience easily gets your point.
4. Start strong and end strong. Prepare and practice a strong open that will warm the audience to your big idea or “takeaway.” Likewise, prepare and practice a strong close that sends your audience away with a good feeling about the idea you just advanced.
Tip: End your opening with your “takeaway.” Begin your close by stating the “takeaway” one final time.
5. Use virtual meetings to your advantage. Because it’s tougher to advance once’s ideas in a virtual setting, those who do so stand apart, especially as virtual meetings become more the norm than the exception.
Tip: Be sure your camera is eyelevel, that your video and audio work well, and that your lighting and all else looks professional. Every effort will help you distinguish yourself and your ideas.
Bluestone Executive Communications provides one-on-one coaching for CFOs and training for finance professionals at all levels to help them make the most of every opportunity. For pricing or to learn more about our Bluestone offerings, email us at info@bluestoneexec.com or call us at 248.514.7085. Learn more about Bluestone at bluestoneexec.com.