Public speaking insights for entrepreneurs

Last week’s Boise Startup Week was a smorgasbord of helpfulness for anyone in the process of starting or building their entrepreneurial venture. I had the fun job of speaking to those readying themselves to pitch for funding.

While it’s not necessarily part of their core business, all entrepreneurs need public speaking skills to:

  • win customers and clients, and secure suppliers,
  • solicit the right people for your board of advisors, 
  • talk about their idea in professional and social settings,
  • and, perhaps most importantly, to successfully pitch for funding.

The full talk can be viewed here and the slide deck can be downloaded here. For those preferring a synopsis in written format, here are the key principles:

Develop the content first

Craft the message of your pitch before ever opening the presentation software. By constructing a narrative first, you’ll better capture the content that needs to be relayed for an investor to make an informed decision (or decide to ask for more information).

Use Aristotle’s three-act structure to frame the pitch

  • The beginning should include industry specifics, a customer profile, and the problem your customer faces.
  • The “messy middle” needs to showcase how your business overcomes that problem and related obstacles like competition. 
  • The resolution casts a vision for what the future could be like if your company is empowered (through funding). Describe the traction you have and the road map going forward.

Common mistake: Not tailoring the content to the specific audience (investor) being pitched. Identify how your company would fit within their portfolio. 

Identify the aspects of pitch that should be visualized on screen

Sketch–on paper–some options for the best ways to help your audience understand what you’re saying. Once you have an idea of what needs to be on your slides, begin the work of crafting them.

Avoid the common pitfalls in pitch decks

  • Find a fresh-looking template. Stale templates communicate implicitly that your idea is stale. And stale ideas don’t get funded. 
  • De-clutter your slides. Aim for a single message per slide instead of crowding too much information onto the slides to conform to standard pitch deck formats.
  • Skip the videos, animations and transitions; they’re vulnerable to lag, both in person and virtually. Use builds instead to help your investors focus on the message you’re conveying.

Polish the presentation

  • Practice the pitch at least daily. Practice in front of an audience of colleagues; you’ll get accustomed to having an audience and can solicit their feedback.
  • Capture timestamps for each slide. While the time spend on each slide needn’t be equivalent, this will help you know where to reduce if you’re going over the allotted time. 

Best practices for the day of the pitch

  • Stand tall. Good posture communicates confidence and allows for full breaths (which helps with both anxiety and voice projection). 
  • Make eye contact. If you’re pitching online, be sure you’re looking directly into the camera.
  • For virtual pitching, be sure you’re well lit, using a wired mic, and that your camera is at eye-level. 

Reap the reward

You’ve invested much into your business—time away from family, home equity loans, and probably a lot of missed hours of sleep. Don’t fail yourself by not being able to share your venture with others in a clear, compelling way. 

You made a business plan. Now make a plan to communicate it well. 

Posted in Public speaking