Top 4 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Investment Advisors in LA

If you are an investment advisor, it’s pretty much a guarantee that you will make a business presentation at some point using PowerPoint. These presentations add visual power to the firm’s message and can be printed as handouts or emailed to attendees later, so their potential is immense.

But too many PowerPoints fail to make the impact intended for a number of reasons - they don’t display on multiple platforms, are difficult to read, or hard to print for later review. To make your next presentation accomplish its goal, here are four PowerPoint presentation tips that have repeatedly met with success.

Tip# 1: Create Mobile Presentations

When meeting one-on-one with clients or prospects, many investment advisors prefer to use an iPad to deliver their PowerPoint presentations. The most efficient way to accomplish this is to import the presentation into Keynote for iPad, which can be purchased from the iTunes App store.

Once the presentation is complete, send it as an email attachment to an address accessible on the iPad. Open the message and click on the file’s image to open it in a preview format. If it looks good and flows well on the screen, click ‘Open in Keynote’. The program will open and convert the presentation into a workable and mobile format that can be easily shared anytime and anywhere.

Tip# 2: Convert Presentation to Word

Converting a PowerPoint presentation to Word is a smart business move for a couple of reasons.

Printouts let the audience review the contents later, refreshing their memory and ensuring that your message sticks.
PowerPoint presentations generate large file sizes, especially when graphics are inserted. When they are converted to Word, it’s easier to email them to managers for approval.

The conversion methods vary based on what version of PowerPoint and Word you are working with, but the end result is the same. The final printouts will usually display a miniature version of each slide along with your speaker notes or appear as simple handout pages with sections for the audience to jot notes.

Tip# 3: The Right Fonts

Text is an important part of a PowerPoint presentation, so it’s important to choose colors and fonts wisely.

Ensure that there is sharp contrast between the font colors and the slide background. If there’s not enough contrast, the presentation will be difficult to read.
Choose simple, standard fonts that can be found on all computers. If the computer or device displaying the presentation doesn’t have a font installed, another one will be substituted by the system, and the results can skew the look of the text on the slides.
For headings, use sans serif fonts such as Arial, Tahoma, and Verdana.
Serif fonts such as Times New Roman are recommended as body text. Newspapers use them as a rule because they are easier to read.

Some relevant links to help you utilize better fonts include:

Tip# 4: End With a Call-to-Action

Do not end your presentation with a slide displaying the word “Questions?” You want to conclude with a call-to-action. So dedicate the last few slides to the steps the audience should follow to act on the information you have displayed.

It should be clear to them what they need to do next. Inviting discussion of the steps is fine if time permits it, but make sure the audience knows what’s expected of them to accomplish the presentation’s goal.

Bottom Line

Using these PowerPoint presentation tips will make your next presentation more effective by structuring it properly and delivering it in a way that the audience will understand. Remember: the presentation’s success is determined before you even begin to speak. Prepare well and reap the benefits.

What PowerPoint presentation tips work for you when you have to give an important presentation to a manager, client, or prospect? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments box below.

And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, be sure to download your free guide, Investing in High Net Worth Clients: The LA Investment Advisor's Guide to Using Technology to Manage and Grow Your Firm.