The Skill That Can Make or Break a CFO’s Career
Of the a lot of vitally critical roles and responsibilities of a chief economical officer, the capacity to deliver persuasive economical displays would probably not make the prime five. But as a lot of CFOs would attest, these displays can make or break occupations. Provide a persuasive and persuasive presentation and you are a hero. Provide a rambling, unfocused just one, and that next marketing is in jeopardy.
In excess of my a long time in television, both equally as a studio govt and a producer, I have experienced the very good fortune to work intimately with people who can shift an viewers.
Currently, as a communications guide to large-profile business leaders, I work just one-on-just one with CFOs and CEOs who will need to connect persuasive messaging to critical audiences, both equally small and big. Below are five suggestions to assist assure a great presentation every time.
one. Craft your presentation for your viewers.
Each quarter, CFOs are so concentrated on gathering the material, verifying its validity, and producing the requisite slides to present that they don’t contemplate who will be on the receiving conclusion of that data. The way you present to analysts and shareholders is possibly quite various from presenting comparable data to the board of directors. Reverse engineering your presentation from the point of view of the viewers is a important initially action.
two. Have a distinct information.
As soon as you have a mental photo of who will be the receivers of the information, it is critical to commit time thinking about the key information you are on the lookout to connect. It is crucial always to retain that information as your North Star mainly because it will variety the basis for delivering it to the viewers. If it is an insider-based viewers, your information can be far more thorough and technical. If it is an outsider viewers, you will possibly have to get challenging data and simplify it.
three. Develop a narrative.
Numbers convey to a tale, and tales can be a strong instrument to assist illuminate the quantities engagingly and memorably. When I work with CFOs in preparing them for displays, acquiring them to feel about the quantities as a narrative can sometimes be hard.
A newly minted CEO that I just lately labored with informed me an off-hand tale about an working experience she experienced at her earlier business. Unbeknownst to her, this tale dovetailed properly into a point she was making an attempt to make for an future quarterly earnings phone. We expended time tightening it up for the phone, strategized about its placement, and labored on weaving it in seamlessly.
The feed-back we got later was that the tale was just one of the prime takeaways from that phone. When making an attempt to generate a narrative, feel of an working experience from your work or own lifetime that can generate a visible link to your information.
four. Foresee thoughts.
Financial displays are two-way conversations. Additional often than not, CFO’s don’t commit adequate time anticipating the thoughts that could crop up with every single slide or piece of data.
It is important to put your self in the placement of the board member, investor, or analyst and check with your self what thoughts could crop up. Arrive up with a list and craft the remedy in writing. But make absolutely sure you also include the most hard thoughts you can feel of. If they don’t get asked, that’s great. But you will go into your presentation with far more self-assurance realizing that you are armed for everything.
5. Rehearse.
John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, famously stated, “Practice doesn’t make great. Great observe would make great.” Devoid of right rehearsal, all the earlier work you’ve accomplished will be for naught. It is critical to leave your self adequate time to observe delivering the material and crafting the narrative.
When I work with clients, I make absolutely sure we rehearse by replicating the working experience as substantially as achievable. That indicates training in the same space with the same products you will be utilizing for the genuine presentation. Include a reliable colleague on the crew and, if you can, history it. Whilst a lot of people don’t like to see on their own on movie, this more action separates a very good rehearsal from a great just one. Ask your self, does it feel extensive? Does it make perception? Are there weak points that could be strengthened? The only way to locate out is with a official, recorded rehearsal.
I’m confident that incorporating some or all of these points will spend dividends in your next economical presentation.
Rob Morhaim is president of Chicago-based Morhaim Media Consulting, which is effective with large-profile business executives on productive communications and presentation techniques.
