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Avoid These Filler Words When Writing for Your Pitch Deck

Even the most complex ideas can be sufficiently explained using simple terms.

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As American founding father, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Never use two words when one will do.” Keeping things short and concise keeps a pitch from rambling and confusing people.

As we’ve discussed previously, the conversational tone works when presenting to an audience. However, our everyday speech doesn’t always translate well into written form.

Avoid using words that may work in everyday situations but not in writing slide content.

Here are ten common filler words to remove from your deck:

Got

You’ve got to stop using “got.” Say it properly: stop using “got.”

See the difference?

The latter sounds more certain, succinct, and direct.

Just

If you just can’t stop, then you’re just not doing it right. Unless you’re not speaking in the context of justice, avoid using “just.” It needlessly lengthens your writing.

This is also sometimes used in combination with “got.”: “You’ve just got to learn proper etiquette.”

Keep it simple. Say “Learn proper etiquette.” instead.

Really

Really? Avoid using “really” in your slides.

It’s okay to use it in everyday conversations when insisting on and emphasizing a point. However, using it in writing makes you sound like you’re trying too hard to convince someone to take your side.

Remove it, and you’ll sound more believable and credible. No, really.

Then

If you’re narrating a sequence of events, then you can use this word.

Readers easily understand that sentences in succession are connected, with or without bullet points. Your flow will remain the same without it.

Maybe

Nothing reeks of uncertainty more than “maybe.” It works for lightly declining a party invitation…maybe.

Remove it to sound more certain.

Basically

It basically doesn’t contribute anything to your sentences, except for one useless adverb to add to your word count.

Even if you mean to imply that the statement is a summary, it still sounds condescending to your audience. You’re implying that they wouldn’t understand what you’re talking about in its non-basic form.

Unless you’re writing a college paper and your professor is strict about word counts, remove it entirely.

Literally

The word literally means “without exaggeration or inaccuracy.”

Unfortunately, people use this word when they should be saying “figuratively.” Its use as an intensifier is both totally incorrect and terribly irritating.

If something is what it really is, remove it or use an appropriate adjective instead.

Amazing

Amazingly, its overuse the main cause of its decline.

Simply saying that something is amazing convinces nobody. It’s in no way superior or even equal to substantial explanation and demonstration of a truly amazing thing.

Things

When you’re talking about things, no one really understands what you’re talking about.

Be specific when writing for your deck. Use a noun that describes a specific object or concept. Otherwise, just remove it.

Stuff

The difference between stuff and things is minimal, except that stuff is even more general and overused. It’s commonly used to give conversations a warm and informal feel, as if you were speaking with friends.

In a professional setting, it makes you sound like you don’t know what you’re saying. Free yourself of stuff.

Conclusion

Just because they work in everyday life doesn’t mean you should use them in your pitch deck slides.

Keep your writing style different between speaking and writing to optimize your message’s effectiveness and your audience’s engagement.

Check out our pitch deck portfolio for some effective examples, or contact us now for a free quote!

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References

Literally.” Dictionary.com. Accessed July 02, 2015.

Featured Image: “Writing? Yeah.” by Caleb Roenigk on flickr.com

Don’t Fluff, Buff: Avoiding Filler Words in Your Pitch

Even the most complex ideas can be sufficiently explained using simple terms.

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As American founding father, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Never use two words when one will do.” Keeping things short and concise keeps a pitch from rambling and confusing people.

As we’ve discussed previously, the conversational tone works when presenting to an audience. However, our everyday speech doesn’t always translate well into written form.

Avoid using words that may work in everyday situations but not in writing slide content.

Here are ten common filler words to remove from your deck:

Got

You’ve got to stop using “got.” Say it properly: stop using “got.”

See the difference?

The latter sounds more certain, succinct, and direct.

Just

If you just can’t stop, then you’re just not doing it right. Unless you’re not speaking in the context of justice, avoid using “just.” It needlessly lengthens your writing.

This is also sometimes used in combination with “got.”: “You’ve just got to learn proper etiquette.”

Keep it simple. Say “Learn proper etiquette.” instead.

Really

Really? Avoid using “really” in your slides.

It’s okay to use it in everyday conversations when insisting on and emphasizing a point. However, using it in writing makes you sound like you’re trying too hard to convince someone to take your side.

Remove it, and you’ll sound more believable and credible. No, really.

Then

If you’re narrating a sequence of events, then you can use this word.

Readers easily understand that sentences in succession are connected, with or without bullet points. Your flow will remain the same without it.

Maybe

Nothing reeks of uncertainty more than “maybe.” It works for lightly declining a party invitation…maybe.

Remove it to sound more certain.

Basically

It basically doesn’t contribute anything to your sentences, except for one useless adverb to add to your word count.

Even if you mean to imply that the statement is a summary, it still sounds condescending to your audience. You’re implying that they wouldn’t understand what you’re talking about in its non-basic form.

Unless you’re writing a college paper and your professor is strict about word counts, remove it entirely.

Literally

The word literally means “without exaggeration or inaccuracy.”

Unfortunately, people use this word when they should be saying “figuratively.” Its use as an intensifier is both totally incorrect and terribly irritating.

If something is what it really is, remove it or use an appropriate adjective instead.

Amazing

Amazingly, its overuse the main cause of its decline.

Simply saying that something is amazing convinces nobody. It’s in no way superior or even equal to substantial explanation and demonstration of a truly amazing thing.

Things

When you’re talking about things, no one really understands what you’re talking about.

Be specific when writing for your deck. Use a noun that describes a specific object or concept. Otherwise, just remove it.

Stuff

The difference between stuff and things is minimal, except that stuff is even more general and overused. It’s commonly used to give conversations a warm and informal feel, as if you were speaking with friends.

In a professional setting, it makes you sound like you don’t know what you’re saying. Free yourself of stuff.

Conclusion

Just because they work in everyday life doesn’t mean you should use them in your pitch deck slides.

Keep your writing style different between speaking and writing to optimize your message’s effectiveness and your audience’s engagement.

Check out our pitch deck portfolio for some effective examples, or contact us now for a free quote!

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Get professionally designed pitch deck slides weekly.

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Featured Image: “Writing? Yeah.” by Caleb Roenigk on flickr.com

Consistency: The Key to an Effective Sales Pitch

Consistency is one of the foundations of success. This principle’s importance, however, is often neglected, with people barely realizing the positive effects of being and staying consistent.

But what is consistency in a sales pitch?

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In today’s business scene, inconsistent pitch deck presentations often overlook the little details. This leads to sales pitches that end up falling flat.

If you want to sell your product or service, an effective sales pitch calls for a consistently convincing deck in terms of visuals and content.

Why is Consistency Important?

Your pitch deck is a visual aid, but that doesn’t mean it’s just there to look aesthetically pleasing. It’s your partner in getting your message across, so it’s important to dress it up in a way that complements your pitch. Pitch deck is your tool to emphasize and enhance certain points.

Ensure your deck’s overall content isn’t confusing by considering the texts and visual designs that you’ll be placing.

Consistency in Content

Maintain a single and uniform structure in your main points to show unity in your overall pitch deck.

Keep your writing style the same from the beginning to end, especially when enumerating important ideas. Watch out for spelling and grammatical errors in your content. Avoid typos to make your pitch deck look professional and credible.

Keeping an eye on tiny details like these indicate that you value your company’s image and integrity.

Consistency in Design

LogoYes founder, John Williams, enumerates the effects your choice of color has on your business. Make sure you use a consistent color palette so that everybody retains your company’s image.

That’s why companies like Coca-Cola only use specific colors instead of all the colors of the rainbow—it makes it easier to connect your product to a certain look. Incorporate images and backgrounds that have the same subset of colors. Select relevant and appropriate visuals that support your text and highlight your product’s important points.

You can repeat certain elements to help keep your deck consistent. For example, don’t jump from wavy lines in one slide to straight lines in another slide. When each slide looks like it came from the same company, your pitch decks looks well-crafted and well-designed.

Inconsistency negatively affects your overall pitch deck because your audience won’t know what you stand for. Who wants to invest in somebody who doesn’t even know what they really want to say? Staying consistent, not just in text but in visuals, helps keep your audience on the same page.

It keeps them from guessing whether you’re one company or another, especially since consistent visuals repeat certain elements, stamping them more effectively in clients’ minds. Know what you want to say and how you want to be perceived. Use consistent visuals for a more efficient and clear pitch deck presentation.

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References

“Structuring a Presentation.” University of Leicester. Accessed May 26, 2015. http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/presentations/structuring-presentation
Williams, John. “Your Brand’s True Colors.” Entrepreneur. March 06, 2007. Accessed May 26, 2015. www.entrepreneur.com/article/175428

3 Secrets to Making Numbers Interesting in Sales Pitches

It doesn’t matter how skilled a speaker is or how mathematically proficient listeners are. Numbers mean nothing unless you explain what they mean.

Pitches must back up claims, but you shouldn’t drone on with a string of unrelated numbers.

You can say that your company’s taken a 4% market share, or that your profit increased by 11% in the third quarter. You can boast that your bath soap can kill 99.9% of germs.

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The question your listeners will still ask is: what do the numbers mean to me?

According to brand communications expert Carmine Gallo, you can answer this by making your numbers specific, relevant, and contextual.

Specify who the numbers are for

When Steve Jobs presented the iPhone market share during Q3 2008, he used a pie chart to point out that while RIM commanded 39% of the overall US market share, the iPhone achieved a noteworthy 19.5%. Apple’s iPhone nearly equaled the combined market shares of Palm, Nokia, and Motorola (a total of 20.3%), as well as other competitors’ 21.2% share.

He confidently concluded that the iPhone can do even better in the future. This impressive information convinced Jobs’ prospects to invest in him.

Similarly, in sales pitches, show your audience two things:

  1. That your product can compete with major market players
  2. That your product shows potential for future investment

Make the data relevant

Make your facts and topics relevant to your audience.

For people to invest in your pitch, show them exactly what they’ll get out of it. The same goes for numbers you present in a sales pitch.

As one of Gallo’s examples, when SanDisk announced a new 12GB micro SD card for cell phones in 2008, they focused on the fact that it could store at least 6 hours’ worth of movies and enough songs to listen to while travelling to the moon and back. The brand simplified the specs and made it sound useful to its target market. Instead of throwing hard numbers at the audience, they made easy-to-understand comparisons to highlight the new memory card’s capabilities.

Put the numbers in context

Facts and statistics don’t exist in a vacuum. They indicate how a business performs in the present and in the future.

Going back to the iPhone example, Jobs used the most recent market share data that he could find. His crowd consisted of investors looking to see how well the then-current iPhone performed.

This is why Jobs used that pie chart. For the first 90 days of its shipping, the iPhone had 4 million worth of units sold, an average of 20,000 per day. It was a close second to RIM’s 39% market share (Gallo, 2010). That growth rate in the first 90 days established the high demand for the device. Jobs related his numbers to a specific event (the first 90 days of shipment), which put the achieved market share into a relatable context.

Relate your data in a palatable format. Choose the right way to visualize your information so that your audience can understand it too.

Since numbers are hard to explain, help your audience understand them.

Apply these three secrets and use graphs to make the data more comprehensive to the average viewer. Know which types of graphs to use depending on the information you’ll be working with. Specify who you’ll be presenting these numbers to, why it’s relevant to them, and how the data makes sense in your client’s context. These are the keys to converting well-made pitches into additional sales.

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References:

Gallo, C. (2010). The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience. New York. McGraw-Hill
Steve Jobs introduces original MacBook Air & Time Capsule – Macworld SF (2008)EverySteveJobsVideo. Accessed May 13, 2015.

Why Your Pitch Decks Need Better Slide Headlines

Pitch deck expert Nancy Duarte suggested a quick way to diagnose bad slides. To check your own work, step back and ask yourself, “will the audience get my point with just a quick glance?”

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Nancy’s “glance test” likens pitch deck slides to billboard ads. Unless you want to hold up traffic, you can’t stop your car to examine every detail of the ad looming over you. A billboard should catch your attention and tell its story in seconds. Your slides should get to the point just as quickly.

An easy way to do that is to keep your designs simple.

Nancy offers many great design tips to make sure your slides pass the glance test. But apart from manipulating visuals, there’s another way to ensure that your slides immediately get to the point.

Just like a news article or a viral blog post, your slides need descriptive headlines.

The usual slide headlines

Instead of descriptive titles, most slides are headlined by a single word or a quick phrase. At first glance, the first thing an audience sees are words like “Objectives or “Goals and Accomplishments”. If you do the same thing for a blog posts or press release, do you think you’ll get as much readers?

bad-headline-example-chronicle
(Image Source)

These headlines can only share a small part about a particular slide. Pitch deck expert Gavin McMahon more accurately calls them “labels.”

Instead of urging the audience to think, “I want to know more about this,” they see text that they’ve likely seen before from other pitch decks. By changing labels to descriptive headlines, you can convey a complete and interesting idea. You can inadvertently tell the audience to listen closely to what you have to say.

Writing better headlines

In a study published by the Society for Technical Communication, a group of researchers examined how effective descriptive slide headlines are. The researchers presented two different versions of the same slide deck to several sections of 200 students. The first version had slides headlined with the usual short phrases. The other one made use of short descriptive sentences. Even if the study is focused on education, the results show how important it is to write better slide headlines.

When asked to recall the main assertions of slides, the students in the sections taught with the sentence-headline slides had significantly higher recall… For the 15 questions in the study, the average score for the students viewing the sentence-headline slides was 79% correct, while the average for the students viewing the traditional slides was only 69% correct.

So if you want to make sure the audience remembers your message, you’ll need to start writing better headlines. Here are a few tips to help you out:

  • Highlight the main takeaway. Make sure the key takeaway is clear in your headline. Always ask yourself what you want the audience to remember from each slide you make.
  • Be specific. Try to be as specific as possible. While your headline doesn’t have to be long, it should accurately describe what’s tackled in your slide.
  • Feed their curiosity. Write headlines that say enough to urge the audience to ask, “what happens next?”
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Featured Image: Lena Vasiljeva via Flickr

Storytelling: The Secret to Great Pitch Deck Content

Everyone loves a good story. Everyday books are read, movies are watched, and events of the afternoon are shared over the dinner table. Stories are an intrinsic part of our experience as people. It’s a vital part of how we communicate with one another.

Remember this fundamental truth when you’re set to give your next pitch deck. Your pitch deck content has to be more than just a barrage of information and numerical data. Make your pitch deck interesting and relatable. There is nothing more compelling than a good story. It’s the secret recipe you’re missing in your pitch deck content.

Keep these things in mind when you’re working on your pitch deck content:

1.) Every story has a beginning, middle, and end

Your pitch deck content should follow a clear and organized structure.

Just as Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, had a great fall, and was unable to be put back together by the King’s men, your pitch deck content should be presented in a pattern that’s familiar to everyone.

Start with an introduction, delve into the issues after that, and then end with a summary and conclusion.

2.) Introduce your topic with an anecdote or two

Let your audience see that there’s a genuine and relatable story behind what you’re presenting. Don’t just settle for being informative.

Show your audience why the information you’re presenting is important to them. Tell them a few stories that will allow them to relate your topic to their own experiences.

3.) Create context for data

Cold, hard facts can seem impersonal at times, and thus a bit alienating. In order to pull your audience into the main part of your pitch deck content, you have to give them some context.

When presenting any kind of data, don’t focus too much on the figures. Instead, focus on explaining what they mean and where they fall into your storyline.

4.) Try for an emotional response

Don’t be afraid to show some heart. Try your best to evoke the emotions of your audience in a positive way. Illustrate your points with heart-warming examples, or tell a few jokes as you go along your pitch deck.

Go for what feels natural to you, your topic, and the people in the audience.

Conclusion

Delivering a pitch, no matter how formal, doesn’t need to be boring. Using storytelling as a creative means to leverage your pitch can attract you a wider range of audiences and introduce your brand to a bigger public.

It can also serve a double purpose as something to give structure to your pitch deck with a solid hook, line, and sinker. Organize your content with a story to deliver in mind, and you’ll be surprised how much easier everything else will follow.

Need help crafting your pitch deck story? Contact our pitchdeck.com experts today for a free quote!

Featured Image: matryosha via Flickr