Hey guys
Here is a recap on some of the points we discussed last Monday as well as links to a few resources, some of those I mentioned on Monday and some others IĀ“ve added.
3 Most important things:
- What do you want to happen?
- Who is in the room? More specifially, who are you talking to in the room.
- How do you get those people to do that thing? (and within that time frame)
1. Time management and high level focus
As I mentioned, I recommend thinking about the structure of your pitch, which areas you want to cover and how important they are before you start crafting your slides or scripting your pitch.
LetĀ“s say you think itĀ“s really important for this specific talk to focus in on your startupĀ“s origin story. How important is it? 15% important? Well, 15% important of a 5 minute talk is 45 seconds.
Your focus is to minimise or erase doubt. Try to imagine the doubts people have and choose the best way to tackle the core of it with your pitch.
2. Learn your pitch by ā¤ļø
Read this, laugh and then do it:
Stuff that helps me going through the motions:
- Talk to the mirror
- Writing down parts of the pitch or the whole thing over and over again
- Recording myself and listening to me
3. Your slides should support you
You are what the people came for, not you slides.
The same way you are slashing doubts with your words you can do the same thing with your slides. Think critically about every slide you make; what is the purpose of it? Does it add something? How can I get the point across more visually or in a simpler way?
The real beauty happens when the slides support you 100% and only increase the focus on you and the control you have over the situation.
4. This is just the beginning
Remember that you donĀ“t need to get everything across while on stage. This is the beginning of a conversation and on stage youĀ“ve just got to earn the rest of the conversation later.
Resources
Here are some resources I use or think can be helpful:
Image bank with creative commons 0
Slide designers:
A decent guid on slide design tips:
Screen recorder for recorded pitches or practice:
And for more in depth on send ahead decks and fundraising:
Feel free to hit me up for anything you think I can help with:
or
āļø haraldur@hugosson.is