At the heart of it, your financial presentation is about data and numbers – but how you present this information is what makes all the difference, you need to make sure your audience are involved, interested, and understand what you’re saying, and by the end of the presentation, know exactly what the bottom line is, and what all the data and numbers mean.
Financial data hasn’t exactly got a history of being interested, in fact the financial industry is plagued with the reputation – a whopping 65% of people wouldn’t even consider taking a job in financial services because they believe it’s “boring”.
So, you’ve got to plan and create a presentation, and you’re already at a disadvantage with people considering the topic boring, how do you create and deliver a presentation that’s going to get your message across, keep your audience engaged, and get you the results you want?
Choose Your Data Carefully
So, the goals of the presentation are to inform and persuade, you want to tell your audience, “this is what we’ve been doing,” “this is how it’s been going,” and “this is where we want to go next”.
Choose your numbers carefully, make sure they align with your goals – if you want the company to move in a particular direction, then you need to make sure your data is appropriate (it could be positive and an example of why it’s working, or even negative and why the direction needs to shift).
Structure Your Presentation Carefully
The main elements of a financial statement are generally: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenses – and you may need to discuss some or all of these during your presentation, make sure that you keep your end goal in mind, and follow a path that makes sense; think about your presentation in terms of telling a story – if you talk about your expenses before your revenue, that could come across in a negative fashion and give the idea that the company is in danger.
Follow a logical and understandable flow from A to B to C, etc, in order to ensure your audience don’t get lost on the way.
What is Your Key Message?
Everything about your presentation needs to lead to your conclusions, and support what you’re asking. Make sure your message is clear, and that it is threaded throughout the entire presentation – people shouldn’t be wondering why you’re talking about any data or information, it should be clear that it’s related to the end goal.