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Start with considering what your audience needs to know
and get the structure right, but only present

the most salient facts.

By Jessica Hubbard

hether it is pitching Africa that specialises in helping Tell them what they need to know.
a business plan to presenters engage and activate audiences. When compiling the information you will
potential investors “When you consider just how high the present, ask yourself: When I have
or delivering a bold stakes are when delivering business finished this presentation, what emotion
Wcost-cutting strategy presentations, it’s surprising that the bar do I want my audience to feel? For
to the leadership team, most finance in this skill is as low as it is,” he added. example, if you are a CFO delivering a
professionals are inevitably called FM magazine spoke to Channer and presentation on cost-cutting, the
upon to present and communicate Mulholland to find out how finance audience needs to feel a degree of fear or
key information. professionals can immediately raise the anxiety, which in turn will inspire certain
Yet, all too often, finance and bar and deliver more engaging actions. Alternatively, if you want to
accounting professionals are perceived as presentations. Their advice includes the deliver a presentation that builds
speaking an “exclusive” language that can following steps: momentum and motivation, you’ve got to
confuse or isolate their audience, said create a sense of pride and excitement. In
Bradley Channer, FCMA, CGMA, the CFO Focus on structure each scenario, one must ask: What
at UBIO, an automation technology According to Mulholland, a well- information do I have to show that will
company based in the UK. By using structured, poorly skilled presenter will evoke these emotions?
technical jargon and failing to put always outperform a poorly structured, Tell them what they need to do.
numbers into perspective, for instance, highly skilled presenter. “Structure is Every presentation should end with an
finance professionals can quickly lose the critical. So when improving on explicit call to action, Mulholland noted.
attention and interest of their audience presentation skills, we need to solve for “If there is no call to action at the end of a
— and the buy-in required to inspire what you say before we solve for how you presentation, then it is a report and
action. say it.” should rather be sent via email,” he said.
“In any presentation, the most He outlined four key elements around For instance, if the presentation was
important aspect is to be able to which to build an impactful presentation: centred on cost-cutting, then what are the
communicate the financial message to Give your audience a reason to care. small steps that the audience can
the founder, CEO, investors, etc., in a Open with clarity and curiosity: This is immediately begin taking to achieve the
human way that they can easily what we’re talking about, and this is the desired result?
understand and care about,” Channer question we’re trying to answer. “With
explained. “The first step is to put yourself every bit of information you present, the Make it visual
in their shoes, forget that you are an audience should be trying to solve for When structuring your presentation,
accountant, and really consider what your your hypothesis themselves,” Mulholland Channer noted that finance professionals
audience needs to know.” said. tend to use too much text and present
Such careful and methodical Give your audience a reason to with overcrowded PowerPoint slides that
consideration tends to be a rarity in most believe. Why should they trust you? What distract the audience.
presentations, noted Richard Mulholland, evidence do you have? For example, “Wherever possible, turn your
founder and chief presentation officer at emphasise the rigour and depth of the information into colourful graphs and
Missing Link, a company based in South research and data you’re presenting. pictures, making it as visual as you can,”

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