Presenters make a few common mistakes when making business related PowerPoint presentations. The inability to present solutions reliably is a topic of major concern for many professionals. Financial presentations frequently contain such insights. Presenting them incorrectly can lead to confusion and delay. Here, we will be looking at ways to present this information better.

Consequence of Badly Communicated Insights

When a presenter is not able to communicate insights to an audience, it results in confusion and delays. When executives get confused, they are usually not able to make decisions on time. Some people won’t even ask questions. After all, no one wants to look like they don’t understand when others seem to know. This delay costs the organization time and money. The executive might ask you to do another presentation on the same topic, making you look a bit less reliable as well.

Using Too Much Data Hinders Understanding

Most presenters copy Excel data right from the spreadsheet and paste all of it in PowerPoint. e.g. the whole balance sheet and other financial data. You might think that using all this data will be useful for the audience’s understanding of the topic. But, this actually makes it harder for them to understand.

Data is only numbers. Once we process these numbers by comparing them to a given standard or an ideal value, then we have information. As a presenter, your job is to use this information and figure out what needs to be done to meet the organization’s goals. It means to look at the big picture and figuring out what your organization really needs.

Better Arrangement Leads to Better Understanding

Most presenters will structure their insights based on topics they researched, or by the flow of financial statements they intend to discuss. Both of these common arrangements don’t actually help executives make better decisions. If they don’t know what to do with the information, then they will most likely get frustrated.

What you should do instead, is make a presentation that takes the executives from where they are to where they need to be. Make your intention clear by telling them what they will know by the end of the presentation. Take them through the process step-by-step. The presentation should be like a story which paints the intended picture into the executive’s mind. Click here for more tips on presenting a clearer message in a PowerPoint presentation.