Give yourself (and your proposal) the greatest chance to be successful

You have a tremendous product / service that addresses a current or future problem. You are the person / team to build the company that provides the solution. However, if you can’t convey this information convincingly, you probably won’t get others to help / finance you. If this is, unfortunately, the case, you will be the business equivalent of the screenwriter who has a fascinating script for a blockbuster movie that is never made.

So how can you successfully create, develop and deliver your information? Certainly, there are several ways to achieve this. This is just one way, and it works!

Thinking about your presentation

When targeting investors, you should design your presentation with two points of view in mind.

One is, of course, from the prospect’s point of view, which includes:

• what’s your problem

• how is it affecting your life

• how your solution will help you, change your life, or make your life easier.

The other point of view is that of the investor. This includes:

• what is the problem

• your solution to that problem

• how your solution differs from the others

• the financial viability of your solution

• the ability of you / your team to execute the plan.

Conveying your ideas

As human beings, we learn, understand, and remember through stories. To get your listeners involved, to see how you are going to provide a rewarding solution to an urgent problem, tell them a story.

To see your product / service as a story, think of it this way.

• who / what is the villain? (the problem you are addressing)

• What is the villain threatening to do or is already doing?

• What does this look like?

• How does this feel

• who / which is the hero? (your product / service)

• What obstacles does the hero have to overcome? (Competition? Funding? Awareness? Marketing?)

• What super power does the hero need? (What goes to those above?)

• How is the hero going to fight the villain? (How will your solution overcome the problem and prosper?)

• How will things get better when the hero beats the villain (what will the result be like?)

Rehearsing is key

Once you’ve created your presentation, it’s time to rehearse. I know, this is not necessarily fun, but it is necessary. Think about it. Would an actor go in front of an audience without rehearsing? Of course, no.

People often ask, “How many times do I need to rehearse?” The easy answer is to rehearse until you know your performance as you know your favorite song. However, you do not need to know it word for word. In fact, you don’t want to. But you definitely want to know your concepts and their content by heart.

Remember your phone

This is a great way to rehearse. Before you start, hold up your phone and record video. Now rehearse. When you’re done, play the recording, but play it this way.

First, play it with your phone facing down. This way, you will focus on your voice. Take notes on how it sounds and if there are any changes you want to make.

Second, turn off the sound and watch it this time. By doing this, you will focus on your body language and the messages you send. Take notes on how it looks and if there are any changes you want to make.

Third, play it back as you normally would, watching and listening. Again, take notes on anything you want to improve, remove, or change.

Now is the time for the slides

Once you’ve developed, rehearsed, and refined your presentation, it’s time to create your slide deck. That’s right! To create an attractive and compelling presentation, select / create your slides after you have developed your presentation. Unfortunately, most people do it the other way around, which usually results in the boring “I want to stick a rusty fork in my eye” presentations that we see all too often.

Before proceeding, please understand this. There is no such thing as a PowerPoint presentation. There are only slideshows, and these slideshow platforms just support your presentations.

Many people create too many slides. This is a waste of your audience’s time and interest and patience. So how many are enough? Well, enough to get the job done, but not enough to do more harm than good. As with many things in life, less is more.

To throw is to speak, not to read

No, no, don’t use your slides as a teleprompter. Reading your slides sucks like not being prepared, and if people think you didn’t prepare for your presentation, they most likely don’t want to reward you.

And besides having numerous bullets on the slides so you remember what to say (what you don’t want to do), why would you have them there? They do not benefit your listeners. Think about it, having a bunch of bullet points on your slides is tantamount to holding up your handwritten notes for your audience to read, each time you convey a new thought. You wouldn’t do it with your handwritten notes, so don’t do it with your slides. Instead, use slides to back up your main points.

The other reason you want to know your pitch well and not rely on slides as a teleprompter is the possibility of a glitch. Be prepared for everything, including having to launch without technology.

Take it live

Now that you have developed your entire presentation, rehearsed it, revised it and rehearsed it again, you are ready to present it in front of the people (family / friends / business partners). You don’t want to wait until your actual presentation to present it in front of people for the first time. Do this until you are comfortable with it.

Get people to ask questions so you learn how to best answer the questions your audience might ask you; again, you don’t want it to be real the first time you try this.

Memorize two things

Earlier, I said that you don’t memorize every word, that you want to know your concepts and talk to them. This is absolutely true. However, you should develop a powerful one or two sentence opening and closing and, for the greatest impact, memorize them.

Memorizing your opening helps you get off to a good start, immediately engaging your audience. Memorizing your closing offers a compelling ending that drives home your point.

Perhaps the most difficult

On the day of your presentation, avoid caffeine and sugar. They both amplify your body and mind at a time when you are trying to get them to relax. Also, refrain from consuming alcohol for 48 hours before your presentation. It’s metabolized into sugar, which also leads to more brain and body activity than you’d like when it’s time to present.

Being an entrepreneur means that you will be constantly talking to others about the product, service or company that you have created. Therefore, knowing how to convey that information effectively is paramount. Follow these tips and give yourself the best chance to succeed!