Modelling behaviour is a core part of leadership. If you’re a finance leader, your presentations should inspire good practice in your team … but too often they inspire mediocrity.
When it’s your turn to present, do you:
• Ask someone to put together a bullet-point slide deck? • Glance at the slides for the first time just before—or during—the presentation? • Deliver it as though you’re seeing it all for the first time?
If so, you’re missing an opportunity to lead by example.
To present financial information with impact—and model good practice—try this approach for your next presentation:
- Start with the story. Write a script that explains what the numbers mean—not just what they are.
- Design with purpose. Create slides to illustrate and amplify your story, not break it down into bullet points.
- **Think visually. **Use more images (charts, diagrams, photos) and fewer words in your slides. People can’t read and listen at the same time. If you give the audience something to read they will, and they will not hear what you say when they are reading.
- **Rehearse. **Know your story well enough to tell it without using notes or looking at the screen.
Great finance leaders communicate clearly, confidently, and with purpose. Are you one of them?
