Here's How to Nail Your Next Presentation to Your Board of Directors

There are multiple reasons why you might be giving a presentation to a board of directors, all of which might cause you to bite your nails in a nervous sweat.  Because this might be your time to explain the company's performance, gain support for initiatives and financial needs, and help people grasp your vision.  No biggie right?

Big biggie!  You can only do all of that if the board members are actively listening to your presentation. Because of this, it's crucial to develop and deliver an engaging board presentation that piques the board members' attention and makes them eager to hear what comes next.

That kind of presentation calls for more than simply charm. Every presentation needs to be constructed to convey a coherent tale, from the themes you include in the slides to your speaking style, all the while building a relationship with your co-workers. Here's how to master each of the three components of a strong presentation.

Subjects You Should Discuss in Your Presentation for the Board of Directors

Covering the subjects that board members are truly interested in is the first step in making a fantastic board presentation. You may cover an infinite amount of subjects while giving a presentation covering a complete quarter or even an entire year. However, you shouldn't publish every single metric you measured or every minor aspect of what the organization performed.

Make Interesting and Practical Slides 

Making sure your slides are interesting and useful after choosing the appropriate themes for your presentation is the next stage (in terms of driving the presentation forward and keeping board members interested). Several methods exist for doing such. 

You should utilize a lot of images in your board presentation slides. To avoid confusing the audience and detracting from the information you are presenting, it is important to pick the correct graphics for your presentation.

Guidelines For Speaking At a Board Presentation

Let's speak about how you present now that you've organized the materials for your board presentation. Poor speaking and presenting abilities can quickly destroy a strong deck, therefore your style of presentation is just as crucial as your content. 

Make It Short. 

Keep it brief. This is the best approach to keep your board presentation on track. A summary of the company's performance and future intentions should be included in board presentations, as we discussed before. That suggests that you should begin your real presentation with succinct, high-level information. When that happens, you'll be ready for any follow-up questions that could be asked.

How short is too short? As a rule of thumb, no presentation needs to go more than seven minutes. That could be a bit excessive, especially if you're summarizing a full quarter or year, but in our experience, 30 minutes is a reasonable amount of time for a presentation.

Practice and Be Yourself 

When giving a board presentation with a lot on the line, it's simple to become anxious and wind up spending the entire time reading from your slides. This isn't exactly the kind of presentation that is interesting or riveting.

It is preferable to devote more time practicing (so you can rely less on your slides) and concentrate on engaging in a dialogue with others rather than providing a monologue. It's important to strike the appropriate mix between preparedness and confidence, according to the Harvard Business Review, to avoid seeming unduly stiff.

Create a Fantastic Board Presentation. 

One of the most crucial methods to interact with your company's board of directors is through board presentations. As a result, one of the finest tools at your disposal for fostering an amicable and open discourse is a well-planned and captivating presentation. This conversation makes it simpler to get feedback on important issues, gain support for brand-new initiatives, and acquire the necessary funding.

Of course, there are an endless amount of tips regarding the board presentation, but the above is a great way to get you started and reduce nail-biting and nervous perspiring!