Fairy dust – the sparkle that makes a presentation shine; the final adjustments that make the message compelling.
It’s a dainty expression for a hard-working ingredient in submissions and presentations to regulators. Forget spin; this is about substance and structure.
It might involve:
- Having a crystal-clear and confident narrative that carries the regulator through the material.
- Identifying where the narrative stutters or stumbles and smoothing out those wrinkles.
- Demonstrating to the regulators that you’ve identified the points they’ll be concerned about and how you’ve addressed those.
- Proactively including one or two points – rarely more – that you want to put across.
- Using footnotes to expand on points that need to be made but which might otherwise interrupt the flow of written materials, and using appendices for detail.
- Confirming the next steps to be taken, timetables for action and proposals for updating regulators in a way that demonstrates that you’re a safe pair of hands whilst acknowledging that regulators might want a different approach.
It can be used for written submissions and for oral presentations or updates and it applies to meetings with regulators and SMF interviews. It assumes the basics are taken care of: that any questions have been answered in full; that the information is set out clearly. Leaving the fairy dust as the final flourish to take the materials to the next level.
This article is intended to provide general information about current and expected topics and perspectives that might be of interest. It does not provide or constitute, or purport to provide or constitute, advice relevant to any particular circumstances. Legal or other professional advice relevant to any particular circumstances should always be sought.