Strong presentations do more than share information. They help audiences stay engaged, understand key ideas, and build confidence in the person delivering the message. In today’s FA Alpha Daily, we explore practical presentation strategies that can help financial advisors communicate with greater clarity and impact.
FA Alpha Daily
Practice Management Insights
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In today’s fast-paced environment where attention spans are short, the ability to convey your ideas effectively and attractively is a crucial skill you need to possess.
This is especially true during discovery calls, face-to-face meetings, or even a small gathering where you’re asked to present.
Even if you have the best ideas and a great way of communicating them, you can still end up losing the attention of the person you’re talking to.
In this regard, your presentation deck is one of the most effective tools you have at your disposal when speaking in front of a prospect, a client, or even a small audience.
A well-structured deck allows you to organize the flow of your presentation, capture your listeners’ attention more effectively, and make it easier for your audience to absorb the information presented to them.
That’s why today, we’ll talk about the principles you need to keep in mind when creating your presentation deck!
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Talk about your audience, not yourself.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is dedicating a significant part of your deck to talk about your credentials. While letting your prospects or audience know about your background is a good thing, keep it to a minimum.
Everything in your deck must revolve around the needs you’re fulfilling, the pain points you’re addressing, and how you can effectively solve both.
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Set a theme.
Create your deck with a specific theme in mind as this will give your presentation unity and direction.
Additionally, make sure to keep your theme simple, easy to remember, and most importantly, tie every aspect of your deck to it so your listeners can actively remember the purpose of your talk.
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Add a little flair to your deck.
Each slide in a good slide deck should look like they are part of the same narrative. That’s why presenters are advised to use the same typography, colors, and imagery.
These third-party validations include word of mouth, reviews, and testimonials from fellow prospects and clients
However, it should be noted that consistency can be taken too far, making your deck look boring and uninteresting.
To avoid this, add a little flair to your presentation by adding variation to your slides.
For example, if your main topic slides have dark background with light text, set your transition slides to have a light background with dark text.
By adding variety to your slides, you’ll come up with a deck that lets your audience know when you’re moving on to a new topic.
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Use headlines to present charts or establish your main points.
More often than not, presenters fail to show the meaning or relevance of the data they show in their charts. To avoid this common mistake, make use of headings to tell the audience how to interpret the numbers you presented to them.
Additionally, you can use headlines to guide your audience about the points you’re making throughout.
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Use photos that enhance the message you’re trying to convey.
Incorporating images into your slide deck can help you get your message across without pulling your listener’s attention away from what you are saying.
To pull this off successfully, look for photos that speak strongly about the idea you are talking about. Additionally, make sure that the image you choose isn’t compositionally complex.
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Less is more when it comes to text.
Refrain from overloading your slides with lots of text, especially if it is a repeat of what you plan to say out loud.
Having lots of text will force your audience to split their attention between what you are saying and what’s presented in your deck, compromising the effectiveness of both your deck and what you’re saying.
To avoid this mistake, try to reveal your bullet points one by one through visual effects or put them in another slide.
There you have it—the principles you should keep in mind when creating your deck!
It may be an added step to your process, but making a great deck to go along with a powerful talk is worth the time and effort.
Remember: These days, capturing the attention of your audience requires that you provide them with something to look at. That’s why it’s important to create a captivating deck that complements what you’re presenting.
Incorporate the principles we shared with you the next time you prepare your deck.
You never know, it just might be what you need to convert that prospect into a loyal client!
Best regards,
Joel Litman & Rob Spivey
Chief Investment Officer &
Director of Research
at Valens Research
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