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Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 Rule of Presentation: Is It Still Relevant?

Posted on by Rick E

PowerPoint is a superb presentation tool, which, when used properly, can be an effective visual aid for professional speakers. However, at the hands of inexperienced presenters who have no eye for design, it can pave the way for jarring and unattractive slides. Sad to say, the world of business is teeming with mediocre pitch decks that just don’t do justice to the ability of PowerPoint as a great design tool. Luckily, there are people like Canva Chief Evangelist Guy Kawasaki, who can show the noobs how it should be done.

Kawasaki advocated the 10-20-30 Rule of PowerPoint, which banks on the idea that a presentation “should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.” Although Kawasaki originally meant it to be for entrepreneurs and startup business owners, this principle applies to all types of presentations. By following this guide, you can avoid basic design mistakes and ultimately stand out from the vast sea of lackluster presentations.

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Why the 10-20-30 Rule Is Still Relevant Today

Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 Rule is now more than a decade old—which, we can all agree, is a long time for any virtual rule to last, what with the constant and almost abrupt changes that technology makes. Although PowerPoint is still the most recognizable presentation design software in recent history, it’s no longer the only one in the book. A number of competitors have emerged, and they all have something relevant to offer. Apart from that, the way people use PowerPoint has also changed over time. What was invaluable ten years ago may not be as important today.

Now, this begs the question, “Does the 10-20-30 Rule still apply?” The answer to this is short and clear: YES. Here’s why.

1. Presenters still cram several ideas into one pitch deck

You’d think a lot would have changed in a decade. Well, in the case of slide design, nothing much has improved. Don’t get this wrong—agencies specializing in presentation design have emerged over the years, and they have indeed elevated the landscape. It’s the individual presenters who have not fully maximized the use of PowerPoint that still make the same mistakes. Despite professionals strongly advising against it, some presenters still cram multiple ideas into one pitch deck. They don’t even bother to filter out the unnecessary stuff and keep only the crucial points.

When Kawasaki first proposed the 10-20-30 Rule, he also suggested ten topics for the ten slides: the problem, the solution, the business model, the underlying technology, sales and marketing, the competition, the team, projections and milestones, status and timeline, and summary and call to action.

So, instead of filling each slide with unnecessary text, why not try to identify your salient points first and then make an outline based on them? Use as little text as possible to avoid overwhelming your audience with a barrage of ideas. If a slide isn’t necessary, do away with it. Remember, you are the star of your presentation, not the pitch deck or anything else. Make sure that all focus remains on you.

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2. People’s attention span is getting shorter

We’re in the age of social media, where the best content is short and fast, and people appreciate things that don’t take much of their time. Attention spans have become relatively shorter, to the point that people are growing more impatient and expectant—a combination that is hard to satisfy. This is why when delivering a presentation, you should always be considerate of your audience’s time and level of interest. Even if you’re given an hour to present, prepare for a speech that doesn’t last longer than twenty minutes. You can use the extra time for setting up your equipment or holding a Q&A session.

“But I have something extremely important to say!” you may argue. Well, that doesn’t give you any reason to go beyond the suggested time frame. Look at the universally-renowned TED talks for example. Speakers are expected to deliver their speeches in eighteen minutes or less, and that doesn’t stop them from communicating brilliant ideas that are worth sharing. If you have an imposed time constraint, you’ll be forced to edit your speech meticulously until it’s down to the bare necessities. Trim down all the unnecessary stuff so that you can put the essentials in the spotlight.

3. Readability is a crucial factor that’s still being sidelined

The number one rule of presentations is simple: The audience is the boss. Wherever you are in the presentation process, you should always put the audience at the forefront of your mind. For instance, what the people at the front row sees should be seen clearly by those in the back row as well. Optimize the font size of your text to accommodate all of your viewers. When you see people squinting at your slide, take the hint that something’s not right.

Another reason why the thirty-point-font rule should still be reinforced today is that it encourages you to limit the number of words you can put in each slide. As much as possible, don’t overload your slides with information. Remember that your goal is not to bombard your audience with ideas but to present them a few that can change their lives for the better.

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Is the 10-20-30 Rule Absolute?

Kawasaki didn’t mean for the 10-20-30 Rule to be followed religiously by all business presenters. Instead, he set it as a guideline for people who want to improve their pitch decks, and consequently, their presentations. The fact remains that each situation is unique, so there’s no hard-and-fast rule that applies to all.

Instead of asking how many slides you should have, ask how many you need. Also, instead of going with the twenty-minute rule, why not apply the one-third rule, which suggests that the length of your speech should be one-third of the time you’re given? That is, after all, the original idea that Kawasaki proposed. Lastly, you can bend the thirty-point-font rule without breaking it. It’s only the minimum font size recommended, so you can go higher as the number of words you use per slide decreases. Ultimately, you should consider the needs of your audience instead of mindlessly jumping on the bandwagon. What works for one may not always work for you.

Twelve years later and Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 rule is still as effective as ever. If every presenter applies these three timeless guidelines, the landscape of presentation design will be infinitely better.

Resources:

Dlugan, Andrew. “The 10-20-30 Rule: Guy Kawasaki on PowerPoint.” Six Minutes. June 10, 2010. sixminutes.dlugan.com/10-20-30-rule-guy-kawasaki-powerpoint

Jonson, Laura. “The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint: Does It Still Work?” SlideShare. January 13, 2016. blog.slideshare.net/2016/01/13/the-102030-rule-of-powerpoint-does-it-still-work

Kawasaki, Guy. “The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint.” Guy Kawasaki. December 30, 2005. guykawasaki.com/the_102030_rule

“Follow the 10-20-30 Rule for a Perfect PowerPoint Presentation.” Presentation Load. October 17, 2013. blog.presentationload.com/follow-10-20-30-rule-perfect-powerpoint-presentation

What’s Wrong With Your Sales Pitches?

Posted on by Rick E

Sales pitches are a crucial step to your reaching out and communicating with prospect clients. During such an opportunity, you get to make them understand the importance of what your brand can do for them.

Because of this, it’s important that you make the most of the time you’ve been given. Delivering a successful sales pitch leads you one step closer to sealing the deal with a new client.

But what if your sales pitches aren’t helping you reach that outcome? Let us lend you a hand by taking note of some mistakes that could cost you incredible opportunities:

Mistake #1: Lack of preparation

Most people try to prepare for sales pitches as quickly as possible, thinking they can simply “wing” most of their pitch.

Sure, you might have taken the time to prepare your pitch deck and all the points you want to cover, but this isn’t enough to get you across the finish line. If you really want to succeed and impress your prospects, plan and prepare every aspect of your pitch.

Take the time to do some research and prepare your materials long before your scheduled meeting.

Plan how you’ll go about your pitch deck to make sure you don’t go over the time you were given. Be meticulous about every step, or you might end up with a half-baked pitch.

Mistake #2: The hard sell

Your ultimate goal is to seal the deal with your prospects. However, your sales pitches shouldn’t sound like a desperate bid to get hired.

While hard selling has its own benefits, Gigaom contributor, Celine Roque, explains that its straightforwardness may not always work for everyone.

Explore other avenues of pitching your product or service. Let your brand should speak for itself. Work hard to present all the significant features that are relevant to your audience by appealing to their experiences.

During your preparation, try to learn as much as you can about your prospects: What particular challenge would they want to solve with the help of your product or service?

After that, identify a few attributes that would be important to them based on what you found out through your research.

Mistake #3: Poor delivery

You can have the most inspired pitch deck ever, but it won’t be any good if you can’t deliver properly.

As compelling as your points might be, you need to make sure you sell them as best you can.

Don’t waste a good opportunity by mumbling to yourself and avoiding eye contact. Face the crowd with confidence.

If you’re feeling a bit nervous about it, we have plenty of tips that might help you shake off your anxiety. Rather than run away from your fears, face them and use them to your advantage.

Your audience doesn’t know your pitch deck the way you do, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

You’ll be surprised how much you can do when you put on a brave face.

Mistake #4: Ignoring the audience

It’s hard to trust and engage with a presenter who talks without much regard to his audience.

If you don’t take the time to pause and ask questions, your prospects might feel like you’re talking at them, rather than to them. This defeats the point of engaging them.

Instead of this bad habit, make them feel like you’re in a productive conversation.

Remember that you have to leave your prospects with a favorable impression of your brand and organization.

A disengaged presenter won’t do that. Make eye contact and be pleasant throughout your pitch. Observe their reactions and ask for their comments if it looks like someone might want to share comments.

Mistake #5: Bad pitch deck designs

Finally, keep in mind that pitch deck design plays an important role in the success of sales pitches.

As we’ve mentioned time and again, majority of people are visual learners. Seeing your pitch play out in front of them as engaging visuals can really add impact to the message you want to share.

Step out of the mold and customize your design. You can also browse through our portfolio for inspiration and contact our expert pitch deck designers for some extra help.

References

“Design Ideas: How to Improve PowerPoint Templates.” pitchdeck.com, December 9, 2014. Accessed March 3, 2015.
Roque, Celine. “Hard Selling vs. Soft Selling: Which Approach Do You Use With Clients?” Gigaom. February 25, 2009. Accessed March 3, 2015.
“The Visual (spatial) Learning Style.” Learning Styles. Accessed March 3, 2015.

Featured Image: David Goehring via Flickr

5 Pitch Deck Tips For SEO-Friendly Slides

Posted on by Rick E

There are plenty of great benefits in creating a solid content marketing strategy.

As we’ve discussed before, we found that it’s an easy way to connect and engage with consumers. By sharing content that is relevant to them, you help them create an emotional connection with your brand.

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Of course, gaining leads through this method isn’t always easy. Sure, sharing your pitch deck slides on the Internet does introduce your brand to a wider audience. The problem is that it might take them a while to find your content, even if you’ve created slides that are relevant and useful for them.

To nudge these potential consumers in your direction, let your slides stand out. The way to do that is by making your PowerPoint and pitch deck presentations SEO-friendly.

BrightEdge CEO Jim Yu stresses that unlike its earlier stages, SEO content no longer means stuffing your work with random keywords, but incorporating them into meaningful and well-researched content.

So how can you optimize your pitch deck’s searchability? Follow our five tips:

Optimize your title slide

The title slide is an important part of your pitch deck, especially if you’re sharing it online. It’s the first thing that people will see when they’re browsing and come across your pitch deck on SlideShare or any other site.

It’s also the title slide that will help them decide if your content is relevant to their interests. As such, optimize your title slide.

Take the time to craft the perfect title for your pitch deck, which needs to contain the keyword you’re optimizing for. The keyword should flow naturally with the single phrase you come up with.

Also have visuals that match your creative and SEO-friendly title. While the keyword helps search engines decide that your content is a match, it’s the visuals that will capture your target audience’s attention.

Use long tail keywords in the content

Using keywords shouldn’t stop at the title slide. The long tail keywords you choose should also be incorporated to the content of your slides.

For SEO beginners, that means you should incorporate keywords that are quite specific to the topic you’re discussing and optimizing for. This way, your content doesn’t get buried under millions of results for a general search term.

HubSpot contributor, Corey Wainwright, explains the use of long tail keywords. Such keywords flow naturally with the rest of your writing. Doing otherwise might end up alienating your audience.

Provide an accurate description

Aside from content, you also have to provide an accurate and thought-provoking meta description of your pitch deck.

Focus on the core message of your pitch deck and make sure that stands out in what you write.

A good description isn’t too long. A few, quick sentences will do. This will serve as the space where you can include information about your company, like links to your website and social media profiles.

Carefully tag your pitch deck presentation

Another crucial step to SEO-friendly slides are the tags. Sites like SlideShare allows up to 20 for your presentation.

Tags are keywords that will make it easier to categorize and find your content. Make sure you use those that are relevant to your content and your brand.

Tagging random keywords might damage you in the long run by marking you as spam. Always relate your tags to what your pitch deck presentation is actually about.

Share pitch deck presentation on social media

Finally, it’s time to share your pitch deck presentation on social media platforms. When you upload your pitch deck, you don’t have to sit around and wait for the audience to appear.

Do the heavy lifting and take your pitch deck presentation to them. Share links to your newly-uploaded pitch deck presentation on your social media profiles. This will give your followers a heads up.

In turn, they can share it on their own profiles or websites. Search engines prioritize results that have plenty of back links. The more you share your pitch deck presentation, the larger your reach will become.

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Sharing your pitch deck presentations online can help you reach out to a wider audience. Do it right by making sure your pitch deck slides have SEO advantage. Take note of these tips and do your best to connect and engage with consumers through the large world of the Internet.

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References:

Wainwright, Corey. “The Ultimate Guide for Mastering Long Tail Search” HubSpot. Accessed January 29, 2015.
Yu, Jim. “5 Steps To An Integrated Approach To SEO-Friendly Content Marketing.” Marketing Land. March 11, 2014. Accessed January 29, 2015.

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Presentation Tips: 5 Quick Ways to a Pitch Deck Design Boost

Posted on by Rick E

Do you still have a pitch deck that needs to be wrapped up before the year ends? Don’t forget to give your pitch deck design a much needed boost. As you know, it’s important to end the year with a bang. The last message you share for 2014 should resonate with the audience. Aside from learning the best way to communicate with them, you have to make sure that your visuals are eye-catching and unforgettable.

Here’s a quick rundown of simple tips and tricks for a pitch deck design boost: 

1.) Use bullet points correctly 

As we mentioned previously, there’s a time and place for bullet points in your pitch deck design. Most people use bullet points to list down lengthy paragraphs of text when they should only be used to list down key information. In other words, using bullet points should help you present details in a way that’s easy for your audience to digest. You don’t use them to cram a dozen different sentences in a single slide. You use them to create a list of important information that the audience can easily see and discern. There’s nothing wrong with using bullet points, but don’t forget that there’s a right way to utilize them.

2.) Experiment by creating custom templates 

If you’re in a hurry to finish your pitch deck, using PowerPoint templates will definitely make the job easier. However, these templates often have a reputation of being boring and repetitive. Luckily, there’s a way you can use them without sacrificing your creativity. As we detailed in this tutorial, you can create custom pitch deck designs by using the Slide Master option. It might take a bit more effort, but it’s worth it to have a template that’s unique to your pitch deck. Tailor fit any template for your specific situation by changing up the look to match your branding.

3.) Create the perfect mood with the right colors

Speaking of branding, picking the right colors is one of the best ways to make sure your business identity is evident in your pitch deck design. The correct color choices will also add more dimension to what you’re delivering. Since colors are often have specific cultural associations, choosing the right color will help you add more meaning to the topic you’re tackling. For example, the color blue and gray is often associated with professionalism. On the other hand, the color purple connotes luxury and exclusivity. If you want to create a palette that matches the mood of your pitch deck, do some quick research on the different cultural associations behind specific colors. You can start here.

4.) Find balance by using well-matched fonts

It’s also important to keep your pitch deck design well-balanced and harmonized. One way you can do that is by making sure you choose fonts that match each other. Even when you have plenty to choose from, make sure that your fonts complement each other. You can opt for a contrasting Serif and Sans Serif pair, but you can also create a unified look by choosing fonts from the same family or typeface. Whatever you decide, just make sure to limit your choice within 2-3 styles. Going overboard will create too much distraction and your pitch deck design will end up looking inorganic. Another important rule to keep in mind is readability. Make sure everything in your slides can be read by the farthest person from the screen.

5.) Highlight your message with the perfect images

Finally, your pitch deck design won’t work if you don’t have images to illustrate your points. This is a tip we’ve repeated so much in the last year because it should never be left unsaid. Your pitch deck design will be far more effective if you let go of lengthy paragraphs and use images to highlight your message instead. The Internet is a great source to find whatever you need. Take the time to browse through all these sites to find something that will help you tell the story of your pitch deck. Visual storytelling is a growing trend in the world of business, so make sure your pitch deck design doesn’t fall behind.

These tips may seem ordinary, but they all bear repeating. You can’t expect to boost your pitch deck design if you don’t start at the basics. Follow these tips and work your way towards more creative and memorable pitch decks.

If you need more help, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact our pitch deck design experts!

Featured Image: Life of Pix

The Complete Pitch Deck Checklist

Posted on by Rick E

Prepare for your presentation with this checklist

Are you ready for your pitch? This pitch deck checklist will help you cover all the bases.

We often emphasize that the secret to a great pitch is sufficient preparation. As you know, the most compelling speakers won’t face an audience expecting they can “wing it”. What makes their pitches so memorable is the fact that they took the time to craft their message. Just take a look at Steve Jobs, who was known to have spent hours practicing and perfecting his keynotes.

Thought leader Michael Hyatt says it best:

“The reason I do a good job is because I prepare. I don’t believe in ‘winging it’.”

While it may take up much of your time, preparation is the best way to a successful outcome. It’s not enough to string together a bunch of slides. You need to dig  deeper if you want to provide the audience with a complete and informative discussion. Here’s a pitch deck checklist to help with your preparation:

1. Identify the goal you want to achieve

Before you take on any other task, the first thing you need to do is identify the purpose of your pitch. What is the end goal? What would you consider a successful outcome? What’s the ultimate takeaway that you want your audience to remember? What is your core message? Answering these questions will give you a clear direction for your pitch deck.

2. Learn more about your audience

The audience is a crucial part of your pitch. This may seem pretty obvious, but some do tend to ignore the importance of their role. That’s why a lot of us have sat through pitches that seemed too long  and tedious. If you want to give your audience an experience that’s totally different from the usual scenario, you need to learn more about where they’re coming from.

The people in your audience have the power to accept or dismiss the message you’re sharing. If you want to connect with them, you need to learn more about their point of view. Where are they coming from? What are their backgrounds? How much do they know about the topic you’re presenting? You can use this guide to make sure you answer all the important question about your audience.

Another thing you should consider is the event or conference you’re participating in. What type of event is it? Is it an industry event where you’re expected to address professionals? Is it a seminar for aspiring leaders looking for inspiration and motivation? By learning the culture of a particular event, you can better understand how to communicate with your audience.

3. Create an outline of your initial ideas

Having established context, you’ll find it easier to form some great ideas. Let your pitch deck take shape by using different brainstorming methods. Whatever you decide to use, make sure you keep writing down everything that comes to mind. Don’t attempt to edit anything out until you’ve exhausted all your ideas.

After brainstorming, you can take your initial ideas and turn them into a rough outline. Review what you’ve written and decide which points stand out the most. You can also rearrange what you’ve written to give your points a clear and logical flow. From there, you can eventually make a pitch deck storyboard.

4. Fine-tune your content

Once you have a rough outline for your pitch deck, it’s time to bolster your message with strong pitch content. You can’t just present your ideas through a series of bullet points. You need to present your message through content that tells a story.

As you write your content, always remember your core message. Make sure the goal you’ve established is clearly highlighted on all the points you make. Keep your content well-structured and make sure you don’t include an overwhelming amount of information. You’ll need to discern which of the information you have is the most important to your overall objective.

5. Design a compelling pitch deck

We’ve always emphasized how important visuals are to pitch decks. To keep your audience engaged, you’ll need to create a pitch deck that can emphasize your message while following the principles of design.

Generally, it’s important to keep pitch deck designs simple and concise. Use minimal text and high quality pictures. Everything in your design should cohere to the story you’re trying to tell. If you’re pitching sales prospects, make sure your brand is leveraged by your slides. If you really want the best of your story to stand out, consulting with a pitch deck expert will be a big help.

6. Plan your pitch wear

As we’ve written in the past, first impressions are crucial in pitching. The audience can quickly decide on your credibility based on how you present yourself. To avoid giving them a bad impression, you need to maintain a polished and professional look.  A sloppy attire will make you lose the credibility you want to achieve.

Appropriate attire will depend on the context of your pitch deck, so take note of the information you have about the event. The easiest way to gauge what you should wear is by thinking about your audience. As a general rule, Forbes contributor Nick Morgan said that you should be dressed slightly better than your audience.

7. Internalize your entire pitch deck

With everything else prepared, it’s time to internalize every detail of your pitch deck. If you want to avoid committing mistakes, you need to rehearse your pitch as much as you can. Practice helps you become more familiar with your material. Review your speech, plan how you’ll incorporate your pitch deck, and think about how you’ll deliver everything on stage. Interruptions won’t phase you if you’re sure of what you need to do.

It’s important to prepare as much as you can for any pitch. If you want to deliver a message with noticeable impact, you can’t risk to miss any step. Use this pitch deck checklist as a guide to make sure you cover all the bases and accomplishing everything you need.

Featured Image: Chris Lott via Flickr

Illustration: Oliver Tacke via Flickr

Business Pitches: Give Your Audience a Memorable Experience

Posted on by Rick E

When you think of business pitches, the first images that come to mind are probably bleak. After all, you’ve had to sit through your fair share of monotonous meetings and discussions. You’ve had to squint your eyes in order to read the lengthy paragraphs projected on the screen. You’ve had to stop yourself from falling asleep in a darkened room. You’ve had to patiently wait for the speaker to get to the point.

Despite all these negative scenarios, there are still occasions when you were able to watch a memorable business pitch. The slides were concise and well-designed, the points quickly and clearly made. In particular, they all have a few characteristics in common. Take note of the following and apply them to your business pitches as well:

Authentic

Business pitches are often devoid of any emotion. Presenters believe that they need to focus on the hard facts. While data is important in building your credibility, your pitch will need a more “human” element in order to create a connection. This doesn’t mean that you have to move your colleagues to tears. One way to make your business pitches memorable is by creating a more authentic experience. Instead of drowning your audience in a sea of spreadsheets, try to focus on telling a story instead.

Meticulous

A lot of business pitches also suffer from information overload. Without a clear goal, presenters tend to detail too much of their content and end up sharing things that may be unnecessary or repetitive. They end up confusing their audience even more. To solve this dilemma, you will need to identify your main objective and meticulously curate your content. Make sure each slide and sentence contribute to driving home your main point. If you have data to present, include only the ones that are most important to your message. You should also prepare a loose script to keep your speech on the right track.

Visually Stimulating

More than having concise slides, business pitch decks also need to be visually stimulating. As we’ve mentioned in the earlier scenario, too often presenters commit pitch mistakes that overshadow their core message. Aside from carefully picking and choosing which content to include, presenters all so need to make pitch decks that speak to the visual senses of the audience. A striking color palette, plus the use of high-quality images can make a huge difference in your slide design.

Compelling

The impact of a business pitch also rests on the power of delivery. For people to listen, you will need to create an engaging and compelling atmosphere. When you face an audience, you must demand their attention through the way you speak and carry yourself. Speak clearly and loudly. Exuding confidence in your words is one of the key ways to build credibility. You should also be mindful of your body language. Avoid gestures that make you seem closed off or aloof.

Featured Image: Sebastiaan ter Burg via Flickr

9 Simple Rules for an Effective Sales Pitch

Posted on by Rick E

There’s a lot at stake when delivering a sales pitch. After cold calls and endless follow-ups, you now have the opportunity to meet with prospects and have a worthwhile discussion with them. You get to showcase the service or product you’re offering and all the benefits attached to it.

In order to succeed, you can’t just throw a pitch deck together and deliver a haphazard pitch. Instead, you need to be mindful of the correct techniques, making use of your creativity to leave a lasting impression.

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Here are 9 simple rules to make sure your pitch goes according to plan:

1.) Keep it short and simple

It’s easy to lose interest in a pitch that seems to go on forever. Even with an extremely engaging topic, most audiences have a hard time focusing their attention for more than a couple of minutes.

The first step to improving your sales pitch is by cutting down the content. Focus only on the points that are crucial to the message you’re delivering.

2.) Hook the audience with a story

There’s nothing more compelling than a good story. Instead of presenting your pitch in a traditional, matter-of-fact way, you can spin it into a narrative. Following the dramatic arc of ancient Greek plays, or use the AIDA method as a guide.

With a specific and structured narrative, you can easily determine which points are crucial to your message, and which ones feel excessive or unnecessary. This technique can also lead to a stronger connection between you and your audience.

3.) Create tension by identifying challenges

All the best stories are able to build tension for conflict and suspense. The same thing should be true for your sales pitch. Briefly show your prospects just how crucial your product or service is. Let them know that you’re aware of the problems they encounter. Describe a scenario that enumerates the challenges they face. Aside from making your pitch more compelling, this will let your prospects see how much you understand their current situation.

4.) Release tension by detailing your solution

Of course, you’ll need to do more than talk about the problems. Too much suspense can also kill engagement, so balance your story out by bringing attention to positive details as well. Delve into the features of your product or service, and focus on the opportunities it can give your prospects. Show them how your solution is the best way to overcome their challenges.

5.) Showcase your accomplishments, expertise, and experience

Another thing you can’t miss is to showcase the value of your brand and company. Build audience trust by enumerating your key accomplishments and relevant industry experience. Let your prospects understand the culture and logic behind your product or service, but don’t spend too much time blowing your own horn. Majority of your sales pitch should be spent on connecting with your prospect and showcasing the benefits of your offer.

6.) Emphasize your message with slides that incorporate your brand

Your brand encapsulates your entire company identity. By creating a pitch deck that mirrors your brand, you can help your pitch become more unique and distinguishable. The easiest way to go about this is by using a color palette that’s similar to your logo. You can also incorporate the overall theme of your product into your design. These examples can serve as inspiration.

7.) Prepare for the difficult questions

You can never tell how the audience will react to your pitches. Your prospect might ask you questions that are difficult to answer. They could also bring up points you weren’t made aware of in your previous conversations. For situations like this, it’s always better to be prepared. Get ready to improvise. It will also help if you list down and answer all the possible questions that your audience might ask. Consult your colleagues and other members of your team to expand your list.

8.) Close with a specific Call-to-Action

The Call-to-Action (CTA) is perhaps the most crucial part of your sales pitch. It summarizes the purpose of your pitch in a bold statement that urges your prospects to take positive action. In other words, the CTA puts the ball on their side of the court. To be effective, a CTA needs to be direct, precise, and straight to the point.

9.) Don’t forget to follow up

Your work doesn’t stop even after your sales pitch ends with positive feedback. You can’t assume that your prospects will immediately act on your pitch. The people in your audience, especially the key decision makers, often have busy schedules. To make sure the impact of your sales pitch doesn’t dwindle, send an email to your prospects and reiterate your points.

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READ MORE: What Makes a Sales Pitch, As Told by Mad Men’s Don Draper

Featured Image: Ted Eytan via Flickr

PowerPoint Karaoke: Have Fun and Improve Your Pitching Skills

Posted on by Rick E

I’m sure you’ve tried karaoke to wind down with colleagues after a long day of work. But have you ever thought to give PowerPoint Karaoke a try?

In PowerPoint Karaoke, participants are challenged to take the stage and deliver a pitch based on slides they’ve never seen before. The rules are pretty simple. Instead of singing power ballads, participants will need to make sense of random slides, and connect it to an assigned theme. They will also be restricted by a time limit. The results are usually pretty crazy and absurd. To give you a clue, here are some slides from a PowerPoint Karaoke event held in Seattle last 2012:

As you can probably imagine, PowerPoint Karaoke can lead to some pretty hilarious situations. The best speakers are those who are willing to step out of their comfort zone, ready to have fun while practicing their improvisation skills. It’s the perfect game for anyone looking to deliver better and more engaging pitches.

Getting started:

If you’re ready to throw your own PowerPoint Karaoke party, here are some tips to help you get started:

  • Build your pitch decks beforehand. Be creative and go for slides that will challenge the participants. If you want, you can find pitch decks online and edit them for your use. Five to seven slides per deck will do.
  • At the event, let the participants draw for their speaking order and assigned theme. This will give everyone an even playing field, and prevent people settling for topics they’re familiar with.
  • You can decide whether you want speakers to control their own deck, or have the slides auto advance.
  • Set a time limit that’s no more than 5 minutes.
  • Decide on a winner by letting the audience vote. You can prepare forms, or just ask them to choose their favorites by show of hands.
PowerPoint Karaoke is a great activity to try with your colleagues. Gather a small group in a room and start having fun. Urge everyone to test their improvisation abilities and improve their pitching skills.

Featured Image: Simon Law via Flickr

Maintaining Audience Attention in Your Pitch Decks

Posted on by Rick E

The British bank Lloyds TSB conducted a study on the cause of careless household accidents, and the results they gathered have some pretty broad implications. As quoted by Fortune.com, the average adult attention span has plunged from 12 minutes in 1998 to 5 minutes in 2008. Participants attributed their short attention span to stress and decision overload, both unavoidable in our fast-paced lifestyles.

With the advent of technology and the distraction of multiple screens — from our work laptops to our smartphones — holding one’s attention for longer than the usual is nearly impossible. That is, if you’re bored by the topic.

Considering this information, it seems that presenting to a huge audience has never been more difficult. Five minutes is barely enough time to make a positive impression. This is a huge challenge that presenters need to over come. Here are 3 key strategies to keep in mind:

Condense your slides

Try to present more information orally to reduce overloading your slides with too much text and data. The people in your audience can read much faster than they can listen to you talking. As we’ve discussed time and again, an effective pitch deck acts as a visual aid. It doesn’t contain every sentence you want to share. Instead, it perfectly illustrates your main points through the use of images and other multimedia elements. Instead of packing your slides with a bunch of facts and figures, spend more time illustrating and articulating your points.

An emotional and physical connection might be more effective in capturing the audience’s imagination. This bond calls the attention of people whose minds were wandering off in the crowd, and engages those who are beginning to invest in what you’re saying.

Follow an intriguing narrative structure

Structure your pitch deck in a way that will surely engage your audience. There’s a reason why we can sit motionless in a movie theater for two hours, completely enamored by what we’re watching. Movies follow a great story arc that build suspense and intrigue. Effective storytellers know how to create anticipation that keeps viewers looking forward to what happens next. Following their example, your pitch deck can also work the same way.

Craft your pitch deck in a way that presents a problem (“what is), and slowly build your way towards a solution (“what could be”). The problem-tension-solution pattern roughly mimics the structure of classical Greek dramas, which research has found to be effective in eliciting powerful emotional response.

Create “soft breaks” 

According to presentation expert Carmine Gallo, the best way to re-engage the short attention spans of your audience is by creating “soft breaks” within your pitch deck. After every 10 minutes or so, give your audience some moments to pause by incorporating videos, activities, and demonstrations. You can also encourage audience participation by posing a question they can answer through a show of hands. If your pitch allows it, you can also call up other speakers from your team to offer the audience a fresh new perspective.

The Final Word

Capturing people’s attention can be a bit of a challenge, especially during a time when attention spans are beginning to drop, and people are constantly busy. But that doesn’t mean you have to make a plain, uninteresting pitch deck.

Engage people’s senses by keeping your pitch short and sweet, weaving a narrative around your pitch deck, and giving soft breaks in between. Follow these tips and you might just win new business!

Featured Image: Oliver Tacke via Flickr

Lost Impact: 4 Words to Avoid in Pitch Deck Delivery

Posted on by Rick E

Remember the saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me?”

It might be true for the playground, but not for your pitch decks.

As powerful as language is, there are certain words that seem to have lost their impact through constant use. We’ve been using them far too much in our everyday, casual conversations that they lose power once delivered on stage. Here are 4 low-impact words that you should avoid when you’re delivering your next pitch deck:

1. Really

We commonly use the word “really” to emphasize certain points. Casually, we might say something like, “I saw this really good movie the other day”.

But in formal settings such as business pitches, there’s often a lot at stake. If you want to emphasize something, it’s better to offer an accurate description.

Instead of saying “our new product is really revolutionary,” you can share a concrete example or supporting evidence instead. “Our new product has proven results and made plenty of sales in the past year” would sound more impressive than giving a vague suggestion of how good your product really is.

2. Amazing

You often hear the word “amazing” when describing something high-quality. For example, you might have heard it casually used in sentences like, “the new iPhone 6 is amazing.”

Again, it’s better to offer your audience something more descriptive. Let them deduce that what you’re presenting is amazing for themselves. Help them come to that realization by showing them specific details and examples. In our given instance, you could give the features of an iPhone that other phones wouldn’t be able to compare with. This would certainly be more impressing than simply saying it’s amazing.

3. Maybe

You don’t want to seem uncertain in front of your audience. To deliver a memorable pitch, you need to exude knowledge and confidence.

Words like “perhaps” and “maybe” leave the opposite impression, making you seem completely unsure and unprepared. Stop hedging and go straight to the point with active and urgent language.

4. Stuff

This word offers no real description. It’s a vague way to refer to something that’s crucial to your pitch deck. Instead of using this, look for a word that actively describes what you’re trying to say. If you can’t think of one, go for a descriptive phrase. Be specific with everything you say to allow your audience the opportunity to recall and internalize your main points.

—

Get rid of the “fluff” and make your pitches stronger. Achieve that goal by making use of words that are tangible and concrete. Avoid these 4 words and give your audience information that’s more meaningful and memorable.

Featured Image: marc falardeau via Flickr

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