Hello 👋

I'm Soufyan and 7 years ago, I didn't know anything about storytelling and communication and my boss even told me I sucked at it.

So to change that, I trained (and still do) and developed a method that I share with you and 2.434 other readers every week.

And it takes about a coffee time to read (given the heat wave in Belgium, I'll replace it with water)

On the agenda today

🚀 Avoid screwing up your presentation and prepare 3 alternatives

You can be as prepared as you possibly could and still screw up a presentation❌
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That's what happened to me once...
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Story time 👇
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3,5 years ago, I changed job in my company and obtained this new position thanks to my experience but also to my strategic thinking and good storytelling skills
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Or so I thought....
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I had followed all possible soft skills trainings on
✅ Facilitation
✅ Communication
✅ Storytelling (I even presented a TEDx alike talk 🎥🎤)
✅ Body language and composure
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I was working on a strategic plan for the business unit I was partnering with and had to present it to the management committee (+/- 20 people)
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I had everything I needed
📈 A flexible high level model validated by the business
📊 A cool presentation with nice graphs
📖 A well designed story with organized units (see my previous post about it)
🗨️ An 18 min presa (just like a TED talk ✌) leaving 12 min for a Q&A
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🕒11.30: I entered the room, full of confidence and ready to.... Wait, what?! The previous presentation is not finished yet. No worries, I'll sit and wait
🕒11.35: the speaker mentions he still have 5 slides to go. I start to count the minutes.... Ok less Q&A for me 😥
🕒11.40: presentation is over, now the Q&A starts. Questions and remarks start to come from the whole assembly. I start to be nervous 😟
🕒11.55: now it's officially over. The previous speaker apologizes for the time taken and leaves the place for me. I have 5 min between now and everybody's lunch...
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I do my best but it was officially the worst presentation of the history: I stuttered, spoke quickly, spent time explaining slides looking at those, saying "this one is not important",...
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And finally, even I couldn't say what the topic of the presentation was 😧
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Some time after this, I reflected and remembered something I've learned during my trainings
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When you have a message, you can deliver it in 3 different ways
1️⃣ Full storyline: you have the time to develop all the important details you worked on
2️⃣ Executive Summary: it's a formal, structured, content-based synthesis of your story
3️⃣ Elevator Pitch: an informal extremely short summary of your story
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That way, you are prepared for a long, medium and short version of your message
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So, you think you prepared your presentation perfectly,

But if you're not preparing these 3 versions

You won't be able to face all time related issues for your presentation

🧘‍♂️ Deep work in FP&A

Last weekend, I've just finished the book "Deep work" from Cal Newport and it's been a revealing book about how I have been working in the last years.

When you're on your computer, and especially since we all work remotely, distractions are everywhere.

I used to think that I could multi-task but inconspiciously, I started to note a decrease in my productivity.

To change that, I decided to read this book and apply the following tips to my work in FP&A

1. Block specific time slots in your calendars for deep work sessions, during which you can dive into your models, analysis or forecasting tool.
2. Turn off email notifications (if it's urgent, people will call)
3. Use website blockers (I use GoFuckingwork and it's great)
4. Set clear goals and objectives for deep work sessions (i.e. working on the slides for the monthly results during 2 hours)
5. Prioritize tasks based on their importance and align deep work sessions with high-impact projects or strategic initiatives.
6. Establish communication protocols with your business partners that respect deep work periods while still addressing urgent queries or providing necessary updates in a designated timeframe.
7. Leverage technology tools and automation to streamline routine tasks (hello PowerQuery), freeing up more time for deep work activities that require critical thinking and problem-solving.
8. Keep track of the number of interruptions and try improving it for the next deep work session (gamification)
9. Work on a deep-work culture that doesn't exclude meetings and communication with other people (the goal is not that you become a hermit)

I am starting a big "deep work challenge" and will apply these tips to provide you with a big suprise by the end of the summer 🤫

🏫 Last week to enroll for the next cohort of the Finance Stage

Enrollment in the Finance Stage is closing in only 5 days, and I don't want you to miss out: Enroll now​

Already 5 students have enrolled the course and I already feel this will be an amazing group

In a nutshell

• You'll join a group of students made of other finance professionals who you will learn from
• The value of the course is $3.473 but sold only at $647
• It has worked for me and for my previous students (Olivia, Delia or Dudy for example)
• You can ask your company to cover the costs via their Learning and Development budget
• ​Book a free call with me to tackle your questions or your doubts

We kick off on June 19, 7pm (CEST, or 1pm EST) and we'll start with the first step: prepare your message

If you have any questions, reply with what’s on your mind.

Hope to see you soon,

That's a wrap for this week

See you next week!

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