Archive for April, 2007

Lotsa bloggers been declaring “email bankruptcy” lately, deleting wholesale their inbox contents and publicly announcing that anyone with an important, recent email should just send it again.

Cool idea.

But it’s my blog bookmarks folder that’s outta hand. Call this is horrible, lazy blogging, but I’m doing it anyway. I’m declaring Blog Link Bankruptcy. Below is my current backlog of presentations links to blog about. Someday I will explain the more important ones, but I need this clean break for the moment… Call it trying to be less of a perfectionist.

On Presenting Well:
• Presentation Zen: The “Lessig Method” of presentation
• Ben Casnocha: The Blog: Physical Exhaustion
• Create Your Communications Experience: Five Key Principles to Great Communicating
• Power Presentations: Blaming the Pen Again
• cazh1: on Business, Information, and Technology: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Powerpoint
• Presentation Zen: Is it finally time to ditch PowerPoint?
• Presentation Zen: Is it broken?
• Presentation Zen: PowerPoint: sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying
• This one appears again under social web below, but the principles in her “proverb” are critical to great presentations!!!
• The Guardian Posts “best ever” speeches list (as mentioned on Tom Peters’ blog)VC/Startups/Entrepreneurs/Pitching:
• Who Has Time For This?: Startup Stuff For Entrepreneurs
• Boing Boing: HOWTO make a VC pitch in PowerPoint
• VentureBlog: Presenting Your Company
• VentureBlog: The Dos and Don’ts of Presenting at DEMO
• Ask the Wizard: Pitching Your Company
• Allen Morgan’s Pitching Tips for Entrepreneurs
• Feld Thoughts - The Torturous World of Powerpoint
• VC Adventure: Putting together a good venture presentation
• How to Change the World: The Entrepreneur’s New Year’s Resolution: “I Will Fix My Pitch”
• Who Has Time For This?: Practicing the Art of Pitchcraft
• Presentations that DO NOT Mean Business
• Are We Wasting $250 Million per Day Due to Bad PowerPoint?
• Seth’s Blog: Worst powerpoint slide ever used by a CEOSweller/Cognitive Load Theory:
• (People have been talking about the professor from New South Wales who is said to have recently dissed PowerPoint. He’s got some cool research, and I am working through some primary sources to interpret ideas to share with you here, stay tuned.)load.pdf (application/pdf Object)The Social Web: (”2.0?” I don’t like the term. The evolution of the web is neither discrete nor staged. I really see all this as “the web as it was meant to be/as it is becoming/as it will become”)
• YouTube - Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us Freaking brilliant must-watch video
• Micro Persuasion: Irrational Exuberance 2.0
• Blogging Starter Checklist on Squidoo
• Blogging essential for a good career

Though that looked like classic blogger burnout (blogger posts like crazy for a month then falls asleep at the wheel) the truth is I just spent a week living at Children’s Hospital in Boston thanks to some newly peeling lead paint on our porch. DD is fine, lead danger is contained and life is back to normal. Now mommy is catching up on her work, feeds and blogging.

PowerPoints consisting entirely of bullets and words are useless, right? Well, for the most part, yes. But dig deeper — there are productive ways to break this (like any) rule.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Haters of PowerPoint, we give you Stephen Colbert’s Colbert Report segment “The Word”

Plan B
Clean Slate
Body Armor
Season Pass
Hip Replacement

The graphic — his “PowerPoint”– is really just bullets & words. Sure, some video and graphics give context, but it’s just the bullets and words that make the segment work.

Notice the text NEVER says the same thing as Colbert. Usually it’s dropping punch lines. Sometimes it contradicts him to comic effect, completes the thought he left hanging, or reads between the lines.

While you really can’t –shouldn’t– remake your slide deck into a comic sideshow, always consider its role a supporting one. It’s a visual aid. If you like, a chalkboard, and no more. Its job is to do and say something other than what you are saying and doing, something more than what you can alone. You’re not taking that “stage” to present your PowerPoint, you’re there to present your ideas. You’re there to do business, so get on with it. The visuals support you, not vice-versa.

Audiences of the world will thank you.

(Pity about the links, we’d like to embed but Wordpress & ComedyCentral don’t play together nicely–yet. Also, the links die mid-May, so after that, try this, click “Daily Show-Colbert” and find “Colbert Report-The Word” in the list. Thanks, Sumner.)

Thanks to Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen for his recent Comedy/PowerPoint post and the inspiration to finally post about this.

The horror. The horror. Maybe it’s the movies, maybe it’s the books, Maybe it’s the bullets, maybe it’s the real crooks, Maybe it’s the drugs, maybe it’s the parents, Maybe it’s the colors everybody’s wearin, Maybe it’s the President, maybe it’s the last one, Maybe it’s the one before that, what he done, Maybe it’s the high schools, maybe it’s the teachers, Maybe it’s the tattooed children in the bleachers, Maybe it’s the Bible, maybe it’s the lack, Maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s the crack, Maybe it’s the hairdos, maybe it’s the TV, Maybe it’s the cigarettes, maybe it’s the family, Maybe it’s the fast food, maybe it’s the news, Maybe it’s divorce, maybe it’s abuse, Maybe it’s the lawyers, maybe it’s the prisons, Maybe it’s the Senators, maybe it’s the system, Maybe it’s the fathers, maybe it’s the sons, Maybe it’s the sisters, maybe it’s the moms, Maybe it’s the radio, maybe it’s road rage, Maybe El Nino, or UV rays, Maybe it’s the army, maybe it’s the liquor, Maybe it’s the papers, maybe the militia, Maybe it’s the athletes, maybe it’s the ads, Maybe it’s the sports fans, maybe it’s a fad, Maybe it’s the magazines, maybe it’s the internet, Maybe it’s the lottery, maybe it’s the immigrants, Maybe it’s taxes, big business, Maybe it’s the KKK and the skinheads, Maybe it’s the communists, maybe it’s the Catholics, Maybe it’s the hippies, maybe it’s the addicts, Maybe it’s the art, maybe it’s the sex, Maybe it’s the homeless, maybe it’s the banks, Maybe it’s the clearcut, maybe it’s the ozone, Maybe it’s the chemicals, maybe it’s the car phones, Maybe it’s the fertilizer, maybe it’s the nose rings, Maybe it’s the end, but I know one thing. If it were up to me, I’d take away the guns.

Words and Lyrics by:Cheryl Wheeler

(P) October 1, 1997 Penrod And Higgins Music / Amachrist Music ACF Music GroupInternational Copyright Reserved

Check out the new TED.com for some amazing presentations. If you haven’t heard of the TED conference before, here is your chance to play with the ideas presented by a select group of presenters to the exclusive invitee list. They range from silly-brilliant (don’t miss Ze Frank) so earth-moving (numerous world leaders have presented at the conference. You can view “TEDTalks” at their website and on YouTube.
TED Blog: The New TED.com launches today Monday April 16th

TED Blog: New TED.com and TED’s June Cohen featured in today’s New York Times

And many of the talks are already on YouTube:

This story is amazing, and has a lot of lessons about context, value, appreciation and connecting with your audience. The follow-up is also worth a read. Check out the story before you read the rest of this post, what’s below is a big spoiler.

What I wanted to share most was this: [bracketed comments mine]

Before he began, [one of the best violinists in the world Josh] Bell hadn’t known what to expect. What he does know is that, for some reason, he was nervous.

“It wasn’t exactly stage fright, but there were butterflies,” he says. “I was stressing a little.”

Bell has played, literally, before crowned heads of Europe. Why the anxiety at the Washington Metro? [yes, you read that right, the subway, not a concert hall in DC called the Metro.]

“When you play for ticket-holders,” Bell explains, “you are already validated. I have no sense that I need to be accepted. I’m already accepted. Here, there was this thought: What if they don’t like me? What if they resent my presence . . .”

He was, in short, art without a frame. Which, it turns out, may have a lot to do with what happened — or, more precisely, what didn’t happen — on January 12.

Moments before I read this Augustin Hadelich was being profiled on WBUR (Listen here on Real Media). Hadelich won the gold medal at the 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis last fall. In the story they discuss how nervous he was at the competition and how important those “nerves” were to his excellence — and dominance there. They contributed energy and excitement to the violinist-audience dynamic.

Take heart, nervous energy is a universal and natural part of performance no matter who, and how accomplished, you are. My point? it’s not “getting over” your nerves because you are “good enough”, it’s harnessing them to work for good and not evil.

Thanks to Seth Godin’s blog for the link to the Post story.

(nod of thanks to Seth Levine, Gordon Whyte and David Teten for blogging about these tip sheets when I first put them on my site)

1. Don’t say “Um.” Look, don’t freak out over bad verbal habits. Minimize them, but trying too hard can blow your cool.

2. One slide per minute. If you have even close to that we’ll hit you. You shouldn’t have anywhere near that many. Unless you know what you’re doing.

3. Memorize your speech. Recital is not effective communication

4. What you say is just 7% of your credibility. Whomever told you that owes you every penny you paid them.

5. Use your full time slot. Quality, not quantity. Be succinct. Be alluring. Make them want to follow-up.

6. End with a summary slide. End by encouraging the next steps in the process.

7. Speak up. Make yourself heard, but more importantly vary your tone, speed, volume & inflection to maintain audience attention.

8. Start by introducing yourself. You just got introduced. Open with some drama (or at least excitement) and get right to the “ah-ha.”

9. Answer every question they might possibly have. Aim to be complete, but don’t overkill. Your pitch is like an executive summary.

10. Sum the years’ experience on your team. 40+ years, wow! Does that mean 10 schmucks with 4 years’ each or 3 with 13 1/3?

11. Make your pitch into a story. “Story” is a hot right now, but be judicious. Don’t just string stories together or be contrived, use 1 (maybe 2) and use other techniques too, like comparisons to convey unfamiliar material in terms of something listeners already understand. (Oh and as always, give something extra)

(nod of thanks to Seth Levine, Gordon Whyte and David Teten for blogging about these tip sheets when I first put them on my site)

1. Get to the “ah-ha” immediately: Why is your business a great investment? What’s in it for investors?

2. Attend to audience and desired results first. Everything you say and show serves both or doesn’t belong in the pitch.

3. Cut the PowerPuke clutter – .ppt file is not “your presentation” it’s a visual aid. Keep only slides that illustrate your talk. Chuck the rest.

4. Those slides you kept? Chuck a couple more and streamline the rest. Try to read your slides from across the room. (Stuff the detail where it belongs – in an appendix of your business plan.)

5. Say something on slide titles – replace “Company History” with “Substantial Value Built” (Investors recognize a management team slide without you labeling it “Team” – use the title to tell them about your team.)

6. Prepare effectively. Practice in front of your team, in front of a camera, in front of a group of laypeople, get their feedback, refine the logic flow and try again.

7. Know your best style. Earnest, clear speaking beats stilted, overproduced and even “by the rules” reciting any day.

8. Interact with the audience. Refer to handouts, ask thought questions, make genuine eye contact. End by asking them to do something incremental like drop by the booth or website.

9. Ask yourself: How can I make it easier for these investors to do their jobs? (You’re in customer service and they’re the customer)

10. Features = characteristics (adjectives). Benefits = actions (verbs). Benefits matter the most. Know the difference.

11. Give a little something extra…

Josh Kopelman offers an extensive tutorial on matching your pitch to an investor’s “analysis framework”. I am just coming off Om Malik’s WebEx seminar, so more analysis on this later.

Lately I’ve found myself in a number of pitch sessions where I’ve quickly realized that the entrepreneur’s pitch did not correspond to the framework I use to analyze a company. All investors have some type of mental model and set of proxies that they use to help them evaluate a company and how it fits into an overall market. This model will often drive the types of questions that a VC will ask. This is not rocket science - rather, just some common sense. For example, if you are entering into an existing market with entrenched players, a VC will place a lot of importance on understanding the competitive landscape.

To really deliver a knock-out pitch, an entrepreneur should have an understanding of how the model works, and frame their presentation squarely within it. This allows them to anticipate the questions that the VCs are likely to ask before they ask them. Although these mental models can vary from individual to individual, there are some basic fundamentals that apply across the board. The first step is…

Effective commerce demands effective communication. A great idea is not worth much until a viable market hears it and acts on it.

Step one. Identify the market. Step two. Describe, not the product itself, not its features, but its benefits. Construct a vivid picture in your audience’s mind. Take them on a journey that shows the world that could be, that would be, if only they… invested, committed, agreed, supported, signed up, signed on… well, you get the idea.

Oratory is an ancient art, but the majority of PowerPoint-based business presentations have completely “lost the thread” on doing it well. Books and classes on effective speaking and presenting can teach “tricks and techniques” but they can’t get at the root of most bad presentations – the message itself. Messages must be well-honed and laser-focused on achieving a specific result with a specific audience.

We all should know better. One can’t convince by merely describing. So why do so many presentations deliver a “laundry list” of content on their topic? The response that approach generates is along the lines of “Hmm? Oh, that’s nice. Is it time for my next meeting?” We believe every presentation worth making should stimulate the audience to act in specific ways that generate positive results. Otherwise, you’re wasting time and money.

In practice, most professionals have little to no opportunity to acquire and improve their skills before taking the stage. This “trial by fire” – at its worst – results in some spectacular failures. Most presentations stumble along with mediocre delivery, moderate to poor focus and results that are just left to chance.

Anything short of a great presentation wastes time, money and business opportunities. There is no substitute for personal training and iterative rehearsals to develop compelling, persuasive presentations with lively, solid delivery.

Great ideas, great services, even great products are worth absolutely nothing in a vacuum. Great presentations, on the other hand, mean business!