5 secrets of a successful presentation from Guy Kawasaki

Connect with your audience

From the very beginning to the end of the performance, it is necessary to control the situation. Set aside the first 5 minutes to grab the listeners' attention and help them concentrate. Ask three questions:

How much time can I take from you?
What are the first three things you would like to hear about?
May I show you the presentation first and then happily answer all your questions?

This will show your audience that you value time, learn what people know about your product, and set them up for a presentation.

Set aside exactly one minute for self-presentation

Present your company clearly and very succinctly. Just a few sentences should give a complete picture of your activities in the market.

Do not waste time on impersonal phrases like “We keep pace with the times”, “Our product meets the most daring ideas about functionality”, “We have created something completely revolutionary and unique” and so on.

Gather your family and friends a few days before the presentation. Set a timer for exactly one minute and talk about what you are doing. Ask the audience to write what they heard on a piece of paper and check with what you wanted to convey to the audience.

Follow the 10/20/30 Rule

It's simple. The presentation should consist of 10 slides and take 20 minutes, and the text should be typed in 30 point size. Here's what should be on the slides:

Company name, email address and phone number. Plus those same three questions for establishing contact with the audience.
The problem and its solution. How your product can make a consumer's life easier.
The essence of the proposal. The audience needs to understand what exactly you are selling and how it works. It is not worth going into details.
Magic technology. Convince viewers that the idea is technically feasible and talk about the secret ingredient that makes your product unique.

If one photograph replaces a thousand words, a prototype replaces 10 thousand slides.

Ideal if you have a beta version of a product and can demonstrate its functionality.
Business model. Tell us who is already using your product and what brings you profit.
Go-to-market plan. Tell us about your marketing strategy.
Competitiveness. Give a complete picture of the state of affairs in the market: key players, what positions they currently hold. Never speak badly about your competitors.
Command. Tell us about the main figures of your company and investors. Show that you have enough resources to conquer the market.
Financial forecast and key figures. Provide plans for the next 3-5 years, cover all the important numbers: potential profit, sales ratio, advertising efficiency, and so on.
Current state of affairs. Describe the positive dynamics in detail. Explain how you are going to spend the money you want to receive.

Large letters and a minimum of text are a prerequisite for a good presentation. This will help keep your slides from distracting attention from your speech.

Use simple fonts, single-level lists, graphs and charts, and forget about animation.

Rehearse

You cannot read the slides. Therefore, you have to tell. On average, a person needs at least 25 reps to achieve a perfect result. As an audience, colleagues, subordinates, relatives, friends, and even a pet are suitable.

Start off powerfully, play your cards, whip up your imagination, and finish off in style!

Video the rehearsal of your presentation. If you can look at it without embarrassment, you are ready.

And of course, be prepared for anything

Let's say you rented a room to meet potential customers, future business partners, sponsors. Even if the landlord is dealing with the technical side of the issue, you should play it safe and take a spare laptop, adapters, print the presentation and dump it on several flash drives. You need to be prepared for any surprise.

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