Giving a PowerPoint Presentation
There is a fantastic (imo) TED talk entitled [Pitching to VCs]
(http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/davidsroseonpitchingtovcs.html)
that anyone who ever has to give a powerpoint presentation should
see. While the content (i.e. the kinds of things a VC want’s to
know) isn’t necessarily applicable, the guidelines outlined in this
talk regarding how to do actually create and give a powerpoint
presentation are awesome.
Things I think are essential:
- The single thing you are selling is YOU. Everything else is
secondary.
- The fewer words on a slide the better. Bullets are better than
sentences, simply a title is better than bullets.
- NEVER read your slides.
- Images speak a thousand words.
- You must have your presentation memorized. You must know what
slide comes next without looking and know exactly what you want to
say for it.
- I like the idea of never looking at your own presentation, but
instead making eye contact with the people you're presenting to.
But sometimes when illustrating a particular point, it’s worth
pointing things out directly.
- Have a catchy introduction – a sea story, a factoid – something
to get everyone’s attention.
- Tell a story – with an introduction and a story that builds and
builds to the very end.
- Finally, make sure there are no typos. The best way to do this
is to make sure as many people as possible see your presentation
before you have to give it for real.
- Maybe one more, it never hurts to practice – no matter the
event.