Slide Deck Design

Ready to inspire the audience at pitch competitions? Perhaps you’re presenting a business at an event? Maybe you’re simply looking to host a meaningful meeting this week? Let’s explore translating your transmission with sharp slide deck design.

Before we dive in, why are slides even needed? Building a slide deck supports your key points while also establishing the tone and cadence of your performance. One development approach is to plan what will be said, and then wrap slides around that narrative. An alternate approach is to build the slide deck, which helps synthesize your storytelling. I personally find that the process of building a slide deck helps me lock in the story.

No matter how you find your flow, allow clean visuals to support your verbal queues and learn how to share your story in a natural way. The goal is to deliver the most lasting impact in the least amount of time. Honest passion, transparent vulnerability, and concise simplicity are great ways to accomplish this.

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Pitches are built to impress. Presentations are mean to share.

No matter the environment, a clean slide deck is always a good place to start. This is the visualization of your story. Slide decks should create flow while supporting your verbal presentation. They must concisely highlight key aspects of your business. Slides also help address any specific criteria of the environment it’s being used at, such as pitch competitions or other business presentations. Slides should not include full sentences or bullet points for you to read aloud. If the audience is asked to read the slide, they’re unable to pay attention to what you’re actually saying. Titles or short phrases may help guide the audience, but great slide decks use very few words.

With a foundation of strong imagery, make your presentation stand out. This does not mean a bunch of distracting transitions. Keep transitions between each slide simple, but consider how content comes and goes on each slide. Subtle animations and thoughtful hints of movement on each slide will keep your audience captivated. With a striking slide deck in place, practice what you plan to say and sync the narrative to the timing of each slide.

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Think deeply about the specific environment, your audience, and various objectives to craft the most compelling experience. When a message resonates, attendees express interest through questions, introductions, and future engagement.

Being prepared is obviously important when all eyes are on you. Whether you use animated content or not, it’s best to have a single click to move between each slide. As you speak, your attention should be on connecting with the audience, not the slide deck or the handheld clicker. My suggestion is to memorize the flow and order of your slides, but not exactly what you plan to say. The sentiment of your pitch should remain consistent, but it won’t sound the same each time. Memorizing a talk word-for-word is safe for some, but a more genuine tone comes from the heart.

Are questions allowed? If so, include supportive back slides. Back slides live behind the final slide. They are used to highlight material not included in the main presentation. Handy back slides include detailed pricing, competitive analysis, marketing strategies, research data, and intricate financial information. The optional, but available coverage back slides provide make them well worth the time to prepare. People who understand what they’re talking about can use fewer words, and back slides allow you to deliver a strategically simplified presentation. For the audience, this reduces the numbing effect of information overload. With back slides in place, you can indulge in clarifying conciseness. This makes for a more impactful tone. It can even be good to purposefully leave out a curious topic from the main presentation. When the inevitable question pops, you can use the sneaky back slide to share a more focused response. Memorize the order of your back slides and you’ll soon be leading a smooth, more authoritative exchange. In short, back slides prove you’re a pro.

To complete a slide deck build, export all the slides into one PDF and include a JPG image for each slide. The richest presentation will always come from the software (Apple Keynote, Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides, etc.) a slide deck was built from, but the PDF and JPG formats can be used as marketing materials. More important, they are quick substitutes to counter any sort of last minute technical issues. Deliver the digital assets on time and drop everything on a flash drive, just in case.

As you tell your story, take feedback seriously. Feedback from people you don’t know will sharpen the business, your slide deck design, and your presentation overall.

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Happy Thanksgiving!  2021 has been remarkable and I’m grateful for so many things. Along with treasured time with family and work I’ll always remember, the ability to consistently deliver these Roasted Reflections every single week is definitely an achievement I’m thankful for. I hope you’ve enjoyed these weekly ruminations and I can’t wait to hear what you think of the YDNTB audiobook this holiday season!

Pitch Competitions

Pitch competitions create hype within conventions, conferences, and trade shows. Business competitions can also be standalone events. When a founder’s storytelling becomes award winning, pitch competitions can enrich your business. Feedback, awareness, complimentary services, and cold hard cash are all up for grabs.

As you explore business competitions, recognize the commitment required for each event. While application fees are rare, applying for pitch competitions can be time consuming. As you apply for different types of events, repetition makes the process more efficient. Save content before submitting each application for a head start on future submission forms. Along with bettering the application process, consider the competitive environment you’ll be occupying.

How can your initial application solidify a positive first impression? What will be required to participate in a meaningful way? Will the audience respond to a presentation meant to share or a pitch built to impress? How much time will you be given? Who are the judges? How can your narrative be catered to the judges’ scoring criteria? Will there be time for questions? If so, what questions should you be prepared to answer? With these considerations in mind, it’s time to prepare the transmission.

NEXT WEEK: Slide Deck Design

Feedback is Data

Customer discovery paves the path to profitability.

This really is the work for entrepreneurs starting a new business. Customer discovery requires curiosity, patience, humility, hard work, thick skin, an interest in being wrong, discernment, and a willingness to adapt.

For many entrepreneurs, impartial feedback can be scary. Customer discovery puts our ideas on the hook and conversations with strangers may contradict past assumptions, but that’s the point! Interacting with the market you seek to serve allows us to learn from “no” in a way that gets us to “yes.” As you collaborate with those who criticize what you’re building, learn why naysayers disagree with your hypotheses. Be humble and make your concepts more compelling to change their minds.

Collecting such real-world data is human and intellectual capital that will attract more network and financial capital. The more you learn from others, the more you’ll recognize—and be able to meet—true demand. This can be a protracted process, which can make it feel unnecessary, but honest feedback will strengthen your value proposition and allow you to eventually go further in the right direction.

When learning from the perspective of others, remember that feedback is only data. This data should be collected, organized, and examined like a scientist. Inference is more effective with more data, so the more feedback you have, the easier it can be to make decisions.

As you translate feedback into action, you must also find your own way. Even with good intent, people who provide you feedback are doing so based on their own experiences. The experience of others is based on the past and is unlikely to harmonize with your exact situation. There are many ways to build your business, so perpetually gather as much feedback as possible and use diversified data to guide your company toward product-market fit.

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My community visit with 1MC Joplin was sweet, this feature article was a neat chance to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, I’m gathering my own feedback by presenting Pour Over Publishing at 1 Million Cups Des Moines, and the much anticipated YDNTB audiobook is almost done!

Content Creation: Organization

Think of the last time you moved into a new home. A clean slate is easy to work with, but can quickly become cluttered as you make it your own. As entrepreneurs develop more creative content, organization is a habit that helps you scale.

The best way to do this is on the front end. Take the time to name and organize your growing collection of files in a way that’s easy to navigate. This sounds simple, but cluttered folders with unrelated files form fast. Need proof? Take a look at your recent downloads or the mess that is a “My Documents” folder.

To boost efficiency, be quick to start new folders and subfolders. Such organizational diligence adds value now and later. You’ll build faster with quick access to what you need. You’ll also be able to more effectively return to past projects. Organization is hard on your own computer. It’s much harder with more people adding all their own materials into a library of files. If the team uses the same library, establish naming conventions and organizational standards.

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Thanks to all who made this YDNTB audiobook release party so special!

Another good organizational habit is to maintain external storage. This supports unlimited growth and ensures everything you build is backed up. It takes a bit of time, but storage space has become basically free. Throw that external hard drive in your bag and treat it like it’s part of your computer. Cloud storage is another good backup method, but online connectivity may be required. For added security, store one more external hard drive outside your home or office. A safety deposit box is a good off-site option. Don’t let data lose spark interest in a better backup plan.

Data management is important, but organization plays a role in other areas as well. Nobody likes working with people who miss deadlines or go silent without reason. Stay organized with your calendar, email, phone, social media landscape, and workspace. This reduces the distraction of clutter and creates a healthy space to do your best work.

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This concludes our 6-week skill building series. To see how everything fits into the broader marketing discussion, pop over and snag You Don’t Need This Book.

As your multimedia marketing skills evolve, merge them to generate all the feels. Learn how to write so it’s easy to read. Snap photos that tell stories. Shoot contrasting collections of video that are enjoyable to watch. Bring narratives to life with captivating graphic design. Get creative and stitch it together with sharp organization. This concoction of multimedia marketing skills is a potent formula for endless stories that sell.

Content Creation: Creativity

With status quo so easy to find, creativity may be your only chance to stand out.

Those who seem more creative have allowed themselves to be creative more often. Like training your mind to be an idea machine, creativity is a skill that comes with practice. The more you let yourself get creative, the easier it becomes. Start with a will to explore your past, current, and future environment through the lens of pure wonder. As this mental habit forms, try new things, conceptualize crazy ideas, doodle, or just daydream a bit more often. These exercises create space to explore creative ideas without limitations.

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Creatives don’t need to be inspired. Every day is a holiday. Celebrate it and let your practice inspire the art.

When you enjoy being creative for fun, you can focus that spirit into your work. As creativity flows through your work, the storytelling becomes more interesting. If you then combine interesting content with consistent execution, the potential to be remarkable is unlocked.

UP NEXT: Skill #6 – Organization