The 10 / 20 / 30 Rule for PowerPoint Presentations to “potential” Investors + 10-20 Tips for “outstanding” Presentations

The 10 / 20 / 30 Rule for PowerPoint Presentations to “potential” Investors + 10-20 Tips for “outstanding” Presentations  (Go to the end of this Post)

Topics: 10 slides, last no more than 20 minutes, and contain 30 point Font or larger for easy to read.

As a Venture Capitalist [VC], I have to listened hundreds of Entrepreneurs pitch their companies. Most of these pitches are bad: 15-50 slides about a “patent pending,” “first mover advantage,” “all we have to do is get 1% of the people in China to buy our product” etc, startup.

I am promoting the 10/20/30 Rule of Power-Point presentation for you to win them over. It’s quite simple: a Presentation should have

10 slides, that last no more than

20 minutes, and contain

30 point Font or larger (easier to read).

While I’m in the VC business, this rule is also applicable for any presentation to reach an Audience (ie, Prospects)or Agreement of any type of group.

  • Ten Slides. Ten is the optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation, because a normal human being cannot comprehend more than 10 Concepts in a meeting + VCs & most are the same. If you must use more than 10 slides to explain your topic, you probably don’t have a clear, concise vision of what you’re trying to communicate. The 10 topics that most Audiences cares about are:
    1. Problem or need
    2. Your Solution with key Steps
    3. Business model / Organization to do it
    4. Underlying magic/technology
    5. Marketing & Sales, how you will promote
    6. Competition, rivals, how you’re better
    7. Team – edu, experience & achievement
    8. Projections & Milestones to implement
    9. Status (now) & Timeline (to complete
    10. Summary & Call to Action. How others can help (ie, Audience) !!!
  • Twenty minutes. You should give your 10 slides in 20 minutes. You may have a longer time slot, but you’ll lose the attention of your audience, if you don’t have concise points that can keep their attention. Even if time goes perfectly, hopefully you’ll have a little time at the end to answer questions
  • Thirty-point font. The majority of the presentations that I see have text in a 10 or 20 point font. As much text as possible is jammed into the slide, and then the presenter reads it, instead of talking about it. However, as soon as the audience figures out that you’re reading the text, it reads ahead of you, because it can read faster than you can speak. The result is that you & the audience are out of synch.

Why? The reason people use a small font is twofold: 1) that they don’t know their subject well enough; 2) they think that more text is more convincing. Use no font smaller than thirty (30) points. I guarantee it will make your presentations better, because it requires you to find the most salient points and to know how to explain them well. If “thirty points,” is too dogmatic, I offer you an algorithm: find out the age of the oldest person in your audience and divide it by two. That’s your optimal font size. LoL ???

Conclusion: So please observe the 10/20/30 Rule for PowerPoint presentation. If nothing else, the next time someone in your audience complains of hearing loss, ringing, or vertigo, you’ll know what really caused the problem. One last thing: to learn more about great presentations, check out a site called Presentation Zen by my buddy Garr Reynolds.

Comments for 10 20 30: Is there anything you can add to this

from Guy Kawasaki, Author, #1 Book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” 11/20 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz

For more Info, go to Finding Funding

10-20 Tips for “outstanding” Presentations

Becoming a competent, rather than just a confident speaker requires a lot of practice. But here are a few things you can consider to start sharpening your Presentation skills:

  1. 10-20-30 Rule – This is a slideshow rule offered by “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” author Guy Kawasaki above. This rule states that a powerpoint slide should have no more than 10 Slides, last no longer than 20 Minutes and have no text less than 30 point Font. He says it doesn’t matter whether your idea will revolutionize the world, you need to spell out the important points in a few minutes in a few slides & only several words a slide.
  2. Start Strongly. . . to get & keep their attention. It’s often best to start with a Joke or Short (interesting) Story. Then, maybe you can . . .
  3. Be Entertaining – Speeches should be both informative & entertaining. I’m not saying you should act funny – when giving a serious presentation. But unlike an Email or article, people expect some appeal to their emotions. Simply reciting dry facts without any passion or humor will make people less likely to pay attention.
  4. Use your Body Language. Move around, so it seems you are reaching out to your Audience. Don’t be afraid to make Gestures to show your “passion” for certain points.
  5. Slow Down – Nervous & inexperienced speakers tend to talk way to fast. Consciously slow your speech down and add pauses for emphasis.
  6. Eye Contact – Move your head and make eye contact with everyone in the room. If you’re trying to sell your idea, you shouldn’t focus all your attention on the Decision Maker since associates, secretaries & assistants in the room may hold persuasive sway over their leader.
  7. 15 Word Summary – Can you summarize your idea in fifteen words? If not, rewrite it & try again. Speaking is an inefficient medium for communicating information, so know what the important 15 words are so they can be repeated. Example: “If you do this                               your business & life will be better”
  8. 20-20 Rule – Another suggestion for Presentations. This one says that you should have 20 slides (points, statement, etc) each lasting about 20 seconds. The 20-20 Rule forces you to be concise and to keep from boring people.
  9. Don’t Read – This one is a no brainer, but somehow PowerPoint makes people think they can get away with it. If you don’t know your speech without cues, that doesn’t just make you more distracting, it shows you don’t really understand your message. That’s a huge blow to any confidence the Audience has in you.
  10. Speeches are About Stories – If your presentation is going to be a longer one, explain your points through Short Stories, jokes & anecdotes. Great speakers know how to use a story to create an emotional connection between their Ideas for the audience.
  11. Project Your Voice – Nothing is worse than a speaker you can’t hear. Even in the high-tech world of Microphones & Amplifiers, you need to be heard. Projecting your voice doesn’t mean yelling, rather standing up straight and letting your voice resonate on the air in your lungs rather than in the throat to produce a clearer sound.
  12. Don’t be a Mono–tone. Vary your Voice Volume from high to low to keep the Audiences attention; High when you come to an important point and Low when your on routine information. Don’t be afraid to show your Passion for your Points !!!
  13. Don’t plan Gestures – Any gestures you use need to be an extension of your message and any emotions that message conveys. Planned gestures look false, because they don’t match your other involuntary body cues. Practice you Presentation before one or a few to see how you do. Think of points where it would be natural to Gesture and do it. Soon it will become natural.
  14. “That’s a Good Question” – You can use statements like, “That’s a really good question,” or “I’m glad you asked me that,” to buy yourself a few moments to organize your response. Will the other people in the audience know you are using these filler sentences to reorder your thoughts? Probably not. And even if they do, it still makes the presentation more smooth than um’s and ah’s littering your answer.
  15. Breathe In, Not Out – Feeling the urge to use presentation killers like ‘um,’ ‘ah,’ or ‘you know’? Replace those with a pause taking a short breath in. The pause may seem a bit awkward, but the Audience will barely notice it.
  16. Come Early, Really Early – Don’t fumble with PowerPoint or hooking up a Projector – when people are waiting for you to speak. Come early, scope out the room, run through your presentatin and make sure there won’t be any glitches. Preparation can do a lot to remove your speaking anxiety.
  17. Get Practice – Join Toastmasters and practice your Speaking skills regularly in front of an audience. Not only is it a fun time, but it will make you more competent & confident when you need to start your presentation.
  18. Don’t Apologize – Apologies are only useful if you’ve done something wrong. Don’t use them to excuse incompetence or humble yourself in front of an audience. Don’t apologize for your nervousness or a lack of preparation time. Most audience members can’t detect your anxiety, so don’t draw attention to it.
  19. Do Apologize, if You’re Wrong – One caveat to the above rule is that you should apologize if you are late or shown to be incorrect. You want to seem confident, but don’t be a jerk about it.
  20. Put Yourself in the Audience – When writing a speech, see it from the audiences perspective. What might they not understand? What might seem boring? Use “What’s In It For Me” to guide you.
  21. Focus on your Audience’s need. What are they trying to achieve; how can you help them? If you can offer options, alternatives – so they can pick the best one for them.
  22. Have Fun – Sounds impossible? With a little practice you can inject your Passion for a subject into your presentations. Enthusiasm is contagious, so spread it.

Comments for 10 20 : Is there anything you can add to this ?

from 10-20 Tips, LifeHack.org 11/20 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4

For more Info, go to Finding Funding.

 

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