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Thinking through a presentation is every bit as important giving it. It is imperative that you communicate who you are and sell others on your objectives or ideas. Whether motivating an employee in a one-to-one conversation or presenting to a $25-million prospect, here are six keys to confident and clear presentations.
The why
Before you present any material, take a few minutes to document the “Why?” What’s the desired outcome for this interaction? Why is this presentation happening now — why not six months ago, or three weeks from now? What's significant about this timing?
Any of the following could be desired outcomes: Inform. Sell. Persuade. Motivate. Get commitment. Figure out what your desired outcome is for this particular presentation with this particular audience, and then structure your presentation with this in mind.
For example, if you have prospective clients coming in for a third meeting, think about why they need this meeting. What would their goal be at this stage of the process? What might they know already and need to know next? Why is this meeting important to them? You will approach the meeting and set expectations differently depending on your expected outcomes.
The who
Figure out what you know about the person or people to whom you will be presenting. What do they care about, and what is their level of topic knowledge? This is the "Know Your Audience" approach to delivering information.
While you might have the same general information to present to your boss, staff or investment partner, knowing your audience will dictate what pieces of information are important and how you want to share them. Chances are, you'll decide to focus on one area more than another, so it's crucial that you know whom you are talking to and what they care about. Depending on the level of understanding and the preferences of the audience, an advisor should modify material to meet the needs of the listener. Also, consider your communication approach. You may want to present digitally using an iPad or PowerPoint to some people, but stick with a paper-based pitch book for others.
Create flow
Create an introduction. Outline what you're going to tell your audience and in what segments or categories you will share information. That way the listener knows what information to pay attention to in each category, so it won’t all roll together as an endless stream of information. Review all of the information you hope to present and chunk it into manageable pieces. You can easily do this by answering the following questions:
- What’s our general topic or subject?
- What groupings of information can we make?
- What’s the three most important pieces of information within each segment?
For example, if you present capabilities, chunks could be (1) firm culture, (2) investment philosophy, (3) team members and (4) the client experience. Instead of giving random information, you will categorize and present it in a logical flow.
