In January, Tobias Riffel and I hosted and ran a webinar about storytelling for finance. We spoke with more than 100 finance professionals from around the world, and a few themes came up again and again: we present often, yet most of our presentations do not land the way we need them to. In the last surveys I ran, about 83 percent of finance people present regularly, but roughly 84 percent of the CFOs and finance directors I asked said they were not satisfied with the quality of finance presentations. That is a problem we can fix.
Here are the practical lessons I shared on the call: what I believe every finance professional can apply immediately to make their next presentation clearer, faster to prepare and more likely to lead to action.
The five problems finance people face
From the Slido and the live chat, five recurring problems stood out:
- No clear message
- Presentations not tailored to the audience
- No coherent narrative or structure
- Overwhelming slides full of data
- Delivery that lacks confidence and engagement
If any of these sound familiar, you are in good company. The good news is each problem has a practical fix.
Problem 1: no clear message. The 3‑what filter
Many finance decks are full of numbers but lack a single idea people can remember and act on. To fix that, use what I call the 3‑what structure as a simple filter before you walk into the room:
- What happened? Explain the facts and the drivers (not just “revenue down $30k” but why it happened. For example, we lost a UK contract).
- So what? Explain why it matters to your audience (for executives that often means the year‑end impact, “if this continues, we will miss target X by Y”).
- Now what? Propose options or next steps. You do not need to be the consultant who solves everything; quantify options and facilitate the decision.
If your slide or speaking point cannot pass these three tests, understand, care, act, it is not yet an insight.
Problem 2: tailor to the audience
Most people in a company do not work in finance. Remember your audience’s mental model and time constraints. Executives want the end first. Use the pyramid or Minto structure: start with the conclusion, support it with two or three reasons, then add detail if needed. That way you can always compress the talk if time is cut short.
Problem 3: create a narrative, do not read a report
A management pack is documentation. A presentation is a conversation with a purpose. Stop giving a page‑by‑page read of the reporting pack. Begin with a concise situation, complication and question (SCQ), deliver the main message, then justify it with 2–3 supporting facts. This lets you skip details when needed and focus discussion on decisions.
Problem 4: design slides to start a discussion
Replace dense tables with one clear headline, a single visual that supports the headline (waterfalls are great for variances), and 2–3 bullets linking chart elements to your supporting messages. A great slide is the one that makes it easy to start a productive conversation.
Problem 5: build confidence through preparation
Most nerves come from lack of preparation. Rehearse your structure and likely questions. Don’t over-script the talk - authenticity matters, but practice enough so your responses are calm and clear.
