“Investment Banking/Consulting is about moving the logos around a slide for the thirteenth time at 5am”. Formatting seems like the tired, brain-numbing manual labour that juniors get put through just because they’re paid an above market salary.
Being in consulting, this “low-value” work annoyed me to no end initially. With bigger, more strategic challenges on my plate, spending hours on formatting seems like a misuse of my intellectual bandwidth. Why should the shape of a bullet point or the alignment of text matter when we’re supposed to be solving complex, multi-million-dollar business problems?
However, over time, my interactions with clients have changed my perspective. Formatting, when done well, is invisible. But formatting done poorly is glaring, impossible to ignore, and detracts from the message you’re trying to convey. Imagine presenting a deck to the C-suite with inconsistent fonts and uneven bullet points. Instead of focusing on your strategic recommendations, the executives will be distracted by the visual inconsistencies, consciously or not.
The unspoken message your formatting conveys
When you think about it, formatting is more than just about aesthetics. It’s a form of communication in itself. Well-done formatting conveys that care and precision were taken in the preparation. It suggests that if the small details have been handled meticulously, the same attention has likely been applied to the content. It’s an unspoken signal that the work is thorough, professional, and credible.
Executives, especially at high levels, don’t always have the time or mental space to dive deep into the granular details of a project. They rely on cues to quickly assess the quality and credibility of the work in front of them. In a world where changing executive behaviour or persuading them to take action can be challenging, good formatting becomes the low-hanging fruit. It’s one of the simplest, most immediate ways to build trust and gain buy-in.
Consistency and trust
In high-stakes environments, trust and professionalism are everything. Inconsistent formatting can signal a lack of attention to detail or, worse, a rushed, underprepared presentation. That’s why investment bankers and consultants spend so much time aligning slides to perfection. Consistency creates a sense of order and stability, which is exactly what you want to convey when you’re asking a client to invest millions in a strategy or sign off on a restructuring plan.
It’s easy to see formatting as trivial, especially when the content feels like it should speak for itself. However, the sharpest insights can lose their impact if they aren’t delivered in a polished, cohesive manner. Good formatting makes the ideas within those slides easier to digest and more compelling.
Our lizard brains crave order
There’s also a cognitive dimension to formatting that’s often overlooked. The human brain processes information better when it’s well-organised and visually pleasing. On the other hand, poor formatting creates friction, making it harder for the audience to engage with and absorb the information being presented.
In that sense, good formatting is not just for the sake of aesthetics; it’s about making it easier for your audience to understand and act on your insights. After all, the purpose of consulting and investment banking isn’t just to present information but to influence decisions. Every detail, from the quality of your analysis to the cleanliness of your slides, plays a part in achieving that goal.
Do the reps and power through!
At the end of the day, it’s easy to dismiss formatting as “just moving logos around” or “fiddling with PowerPoint.” But when you’re operating in industries where every interaction, every presentation is an opportunity to influence outcomes, the small details matter. Formatting, as mundane as it seems, can make the difference between a proposal being dismissed or taken seriously.
In an ideal world, content would reign supreme. However, when you deal with overworked and stressed executives whose minds are on the next few meetings, you want to increase the chance that they understand the message completely and quickly. Ignore formatting, and you risk letting the presentation overshadow the substance.