Beyond financial expertise, the one skillset that probably most separates CFOs who advance in their careers from those who don’t are presentation skills.
Indeed, the ability to speak before any audience, to make that audience understand complex financial topics, and to win them over to your expertise and authority are critical for a CFO’s success, says Robin Norman, senior vice president and CFO at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va.
Norman should know. She is the top financial leader for a 342-bed, 2,000-employee medical center – a role she has held for 16 years. She routinely makes presentations before her CEO, the board of directors, executive peers, department professionals and the general public.
“I spend a lot more time in community groups talking about who we are and helping them understand how we fit into the community,” Norman said.
It is a role that nearly all healthcare CFOs find themselves in today, and the ability to speak and present well in front of an audience has never been more important.
Talking the talk
“We all speak, so we can say we can stand up and talk to a group, but they’re different skills,” explained Barbara Pachter of Pachter & Associates, a speaker, management coach and presenter herself, as well as author of The Essentials of Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat, and Tweet Your Way to Success. Pachter has a number of entries discussing presentation skills in the book, including “Help! Someone is Sleeping During My Talk!” and “Three Things Not to Say in a Presentation.”
Presenting is more than just standing in front of a room and talking. It is “working the room,” Pachter said. “You have to really reach that audience. You have to use verbal and non-verbal communication skills. I always say, ‘be in control of that audience, without being controlling.’ And you don’t always have a lot of time.”
The bad news is that while most CFOs are certainly good at finance, many are not very good presenters.
“They’re incredibly bright people, usually incredibly wonderful people,” Pachter said. “But those characteristics don’t always translate into being able to effectively communicate information – and often times it is just numbers – to an audience.”
Increasingly, CFOs are being asked to play a more strategic role at their organizations, and that makes it especially important that the CFO can present effectively before a board of directors. They are a demanding audience. Information should be delivered quickly and clearly, but in an engaging fashion.
“Preparing the information is part of it, but I believe the larger part of it is the delivery of the information,” Pachter said. “That involves your non-verbal communications. What are you doing when you’re in front of the room with your posture, with your eye contact, with your gestures? How are you using your voice to command attention? Is there a logical flow to your structure? Have you added stories?”
Equally important to your formal presentation is what you do beforehand. Mingle, says Pachter. Make small talk with the people in audience. It helps put them, and you, at ease.
Depending on the audience, don’t assume what they already know about your talk. Introduce the subject, state what you assume to be the knowledge level, and ask if anyone has any initial questions. Then do your deep dive into the subject.
The power of anecdotes
While not everyone has a great sense of humor, there is no under-estimating the power of story-telling, agrees Cindy Kraft, who goes by the moniker “The CFO-Coach.” Like Pachter, Kraft works with CFOs who need to develop their communication skills. Sometimes the need is suggested by a person’s CEO, but most of her clients seek her out directly.
“Presentations are a bit different for CFOs. Typically a CFO is going to present to two types of people: those who want to invest in the organization or those who have already done so,” Kraft explained.
CFO presenters also typically fall into one of two categories, Kraft says. “The first is the real numbers guy who prefers not to deal with people but to deal with numbers. He is typically not a good presenter. He is typically focused on ‘finance-ese.’ He knows what he’s saying, but most everybody else in the room does not. “
“Then you have the operational CFO – they are the people-oriented people,” Kraft explains. “They do know the numbers but they understand people and how to talk to them. They can be some of the most gregarious and easy-going people. They typically are very good presenters.”
So how does a CFO determine which category they fall into? It’s not hard. Watch the reactions of people when you speak in small groups, and apply the lessons to larger presentations. Do you have the audience’s attention? Do people appear interested? Are they asking questions?
Another good way to practice is with family and friends, Kraft added. While they may be your biggest fans, they also tend to be your harshest critics.
“The hardest people to do a presentation for are your friends and family,” Kraft says. “If you can do it for them, you can do it for a room full of strangers.”