January 2016

3 Cropping Options to Use in PowerPoint 2013

Posted on January 28, 2016July 22, 2024 by Rick E

This tutorial is also applicable to Microsoft PowerPoint 2016.

Previously, we’ve looked at some of PowerPoint’s uses, such as hiding slides, looping backgrounds, and outlining fonts. Today, let’s learn how to crop images into a shape and edit them perfectly all inside your PowerPoint. Here are three cropping options to start with:

A. Crop a Picture

PowerPoint 2013’s cropping tool can help you trim the edges of an inserted picture. This will let you focus on an important segment you want to highlight.

1. Double click on the picture you want to crop in your PowerPoint file. This will bring up Picture Tools above the Format tab.

2. Click on the Crop icon at the far right, under the Size group.

SlideGenius Tip:
You can also right click on the picture to crop it. A smaller menu with two large icons will float above the context menu. Then, click on the Crop icon beside the Style option.

3. Typically, you will see four corners and one on each side with cropping handles. Drag the crop handles inward and outward to adjust your image’s crop area.

4. To change the position of the image inside the indicated crop area, click and drag the picture around until you’re happy with the results.

SlideGenius Tip:
Make sure to fill up the entire crop area so your image won’t have a transparent gap.

5. When you’re done, click outside the gray area to apply the changes and exit crop mode. You can also press the Escape (Esc) key on your keyboard.

Before you move ahead with the other methods, it’s important to note that the image area outside the cropped image isn’t automatically deleted. This means it’s still viewable when dragged around during crop mode, so you’ll need to delete the trimmings manually.

1. Double click on the picture you want to crop in your PowerPoint file. This will bring up Picture Tools above the Format tab.

2. Go to the Adjust area located on the left of the screen and click on Compress Pictures. A dialog box will appear named Compress Pictures.

3. Select the box that says Delete cropped areas of pictures to trim the image.

4. Check the box that says Apply only to this picture so only the current image will be affected.

5. Click OK.

B. Crop to Shape

PowerPoint also allows you to crop a picture into a specific shape without affecting your original image.

1. Double click on the picture you want to crop in your PowerPoint file. This will bring up Picture Tools above the Format tab.

2. Click on the arrow below the Crop icon.

3. In the Crop drop down menu, choose Crop to Shape. A drop down gallery will appear.

4. Click on your desired shape from any of the various categories.

C. Crop to a Common Aspect Ratio

This lets you crop a picture with an exact measurement and fit it into a predefined space.

1. Double click on the picture you want to crop to an aspect ratio. This will bring up Picture Tools above the Format tab.

2. Click on the arrow below the Crop icon.

3. Go to Aspect Ratio.

4. Lastly, choose any of the Square, Portrait, or Landscape ratios.

Here’s a quick video tutorial on how to crop images in PowerPoint 2013:

https://slidegenius.wistia.com/medias/js3hhgkali

Now You Know How to Crop an Image!

Personalize your images with PowerPoint’s versatile cropping options and choose the best look for your presentation slides!

References

“Crop a Picture or Place It in a Shape.” Office Support. n.d. www.support.office.com
“Crop Pictures in PowerPoint 2013.” Indezine. n.d. www.indezine.com

Pantone Color of the Year 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity

Posted on January 26, 2016July 22, 2024 by Rick E

Pantone, the world’s leading authority on color and provider of color systems, surprised the world when it announced two colors for 2016’s Color of the Year.

Rose Quartz (Pantone 13-1520) and Serenity (Pantone 15-3919) made their way to the world of fashion and design for spring and summer. They create a secure and calm feeling when used both individually and together. These colors offer gentle color pairings. They also came with eight color templates you can use as a reference.

Play around with these colors’ contrast, balance, and harmony using the free color templates provided by Pantone on their Web site.

Peaceful and Inspirational: Rose Quartz and Serenity

Garr Reynolds, best-selling author and presentation consultant, explains in his article on TechRepublic how color can enhance your deck by calling up specific emotions. In this case, the pair of Rose Quartz and Serenity is reminiscent of dawn. This time of day is usually used as a metaphor for new beginnings and visually cues your audience to enter a more contemplative state.

According to Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of Pantone Color Institute:

“… Rose Quartz and Serenity demonstrate an inherent balance between a warmer embracing rose tone and the cooler tranquil blue, reflecting connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace.”

Invoke the peaceful and relaxing imagery of dawn using Rose Quartz and Serenity for your pitch. Study your deck’s narrative carefully and decide if the theme fits the imagery these pastel colors evoke.

Rose Quartz and Serenity Color Templates

These color templates provided by Pantone suggest other possible color pairings that’ll work very well with the Color of the Year. Notice how shades of gray appear prominently in all of the swatches. Gray is a neutral color placed strategically to prevent other colors in the palette from overpowering Rose Quartz and Serenity.

Something else to take note of is that a color other than the two is allowed to stand out. In the first set of palettes, this is Fig; in the second set, it’s Cream Gold. Then Blooming Dahlia, Lupine, Navy Blue, Marsala, Grapeade, and Maroon. Most of these colors are variations of violet or purple, colors created by a mixture of red and blue. Secondary colors mixed with these colors don’t overpower Rose Quartz and Serenity but highlight them further.

Rose Quartz and Serenity can complement your brand color especially if it runs along the shades of purple or violet. Complement your brand color with some of the free Pantone palette suggestions. A cool color like Serenity or Rose Quartz in the background of your slide will make the color recede, bringing forward the foreground as the focus. Use a dark, warm color for your text in the foreground, like Fig (Pantone 19-1718), so that your text moves forward visually and contrasts with your background for better readability.

These color combinations should inspire you to look at your brand from a different perspective. Achieve balance and mindfulness with the help of Rose Quartz and Serenity.

Attain Balance and Harmony

These colors exemplify the concept of duality. They are carefully balanced opposing forces. Ancient philosophy talks about this relationship at much length, but what we can take from it is that balance is important to keep things in order.

Warm and cold colors are tricky to get right, but you can’t go wrong with Pantone’s complementary color pairing since they‘re taken from nature’s very own palette. Color harmonies are pleasing to the eyes, which can help the audience engage with your content further.

Create a sense of order and harmony with your deck’s brand colors. Balance it with the Rose Quartz and Serenity palette to highlight it further and enhance your own brand’s color scheme.

Experiment with Color

The Pantone Color of the Year encourages you to be bolder with your perception of color and the role it has in shaping your environment. Rose Quartz and Serenity take a cue from nature in order to build a soothing atmosphere for your pitch.

Invite the audience to relax and engage effortlessly to your content by using the Color of the Year to highlight your brand’s color palette. Determine if the color templates provided by Pantone will suit your brand’s direction and narrative. The contemplative and peaceful aura the colors evoke might not be what your company needs right now.

Order, balance, and harmony are all the key qualities this color pairing provides. Associate your message with these qualities as you see fit.

References:

Reynolds, Garr. “10 Slide Design Tips for Producing Powerful and Effective Presentations.” TechRepublic. September 19, 2006. www.techrepublic.com/article/10-slide-design-tips-for-producing-powerful-and-effective-presentations/6117178
“About PANTONE.” About Us. www.pantone.com/about-us
“Introducing Rose Quartz & Serenity.” Pantone. www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2016

Turn the Can’t Do it Yet Mindset into a Presentation Asset

Posted on January 25, 2016July 24, 2024 by Rick E

“The mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the minute you’re born and never stops working until you get up to speak in public.” – Patricia Ann Ball

We’ve all heard the “I Can’t Do it Yet” excuse from those who refuse to respond to challenges and setbacks. Some think this is a lack of immediate mastery, a sign of weakness, or worse, inability to perform.

But this is, in fact, a positive intervention that can greatly influence everyone’s outlooks and events, to which presentations are no exemption.

Not yet ready for that very important client presentation? Don’t hold back.

Here’s how to use that ‘can’t do it yet’ mindset as your greatest asset:

Think Positively

It’s true that there’s always a first time for everything and that you can always do it better.

If you’re new to public speaking, and you think you can’t do it yet, focus on the possibilities that you can hone your skills over time.

Feed yourself with positive self-talk and look past the desire to look smart, to avoid challenges, criticisms, and failures.

Be open for growth and embrace every challenge that might come.

In case negative feedback and unexpected events happen during your pitch, treat them as a chance to improve the next time you present.

Doing this unleashes your full potential and manifests a great deal of behavior in both professional and personal contexts.

Put Extra Effort

There are two mindsets that shape our lives: one that’s geared towards fixedness and growth.

According to Carol Dweck, a fixed mindset sees risk as potential giveaways of inadequacies, while a growth mindset believes basic qualities as things that you can cultivate.

Even history’s most prominent speakers have experienced presentation jitters. Find lessons and inspiration from them to encourage yourself to keep learning and improving.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Don’t get discouraged by your previous mistakes and other people’s perception of you.

Instead, put in extra effort to nurture your abilities and master useful skills.

Cultivate Motivation

What makes the “growth mindset” so winsome is that it creates a passion for learning, rather than a hunger for approval (Dweck, 2007).

The word ‘yet’ implies that something hasn’t occurred or happened at present. It’s like being stuck until you reach the final point.

In a brighter perspective, this word suggests one to become better when it finally comes up.

It has a catalytic effect on motivating oneself to achieve optimal success and improvement.

It sets you in a light mood and frees your mind from presentation anxiety, making you more confident and motivated.

Getting There

All things grow through application and experience.

Don’t let the ‘Can’t Do it Yet’ mindset stop you from reaching your highest potential.

Instead, see it as a tool for creating greater possibilities to climb the presentation ladder.

Wash the negativities away and focus on the positive things to come.

Put some extra effort to nurture your public speaking skills.

Always remain motivated to keep a steady pace and to ensure growth and success.

References

Britton, Kathryn. “I can’t do it. Yet.” Positive Psychology News. June 18, 2014. Accessed November 2, 2015.
Popova, Maria. “Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives.” Brain Pickings. n.d. Accessed November 2, 2015.

Featured Image: “September 13, 2013.” by Arya Ziai on flickr.com

About SlideGenius

SlideGenius.com is your Power Point developer for business. Based in San Diego, California, SlideGenius has helped enhance the presentations of more than 500 clients all over the world, including J.P. Morgan, Harley-Davidson, Pfizer, Verizon, and Reebok, among others. Let us help you with your presentation needs! Call us at 1.858.217.5144 today.

Manage Stress Before a Big Presentation

Posted on January 22, 2016July 22, 2024 by Rick E

We’ve all had those days where stress pushed us to the edge, and we all know it’s not good to be around someone who loses their cool.

You won’t leave a good first impression if you keep a strained demeanor. Manage stress before it takes over your body and turns you into an angry presenter.

Stress by itself is a normal reaction that doesn’t go away until the perceived threat is gone, but delivering a presentation isn’t a real threat. Remind your body that you’re not in any danger. Relaxation will help calm you down and assure you that everything’s going to be alright. Here’s why you should regulate your stress and how to do it:

Likeability

When things keep going wrong, it’s important to know that there’s still tomorrow to look forward to. Stress skews our perspective towards fear and negativity, which makes it hard to even consider that things are going to get better. In addition to feeling terrified, our expressions project the anxiety we feel in response to internal pressure.

Stressing out before a presentation can lead to failure because the presenter may already be anticipating that something will go wrong. The audience can pick up on your emotions and will definitely sense if something’s not right. You’ll lose your credibility as a speaker if people sense you’re too stiff. Confidence in what you’re saying is needed for other people to trust in you, too.

Stress Management

Stress buildup can be mitigated in the first place by placing security checks. Identify what makes you feel threatened. Is it the fear of being judged or being in front of a large crowd?

Once you’ve identified them, step back and realize that none of them can really harm you. The audience is just there to hear what you’re going to present; none of them pose a real threat. Your body will start to calm down once it realizes that you don’t need to fear for your life, and you’ll have nothing to fear once you regain your focus.

Monitor Stress Levels

Some things are truly out of our control, but it doesn’t mean that we should lose our cool. Even if we’re not the best presenter, we should strive to give our best effort.

Doing some relaxation exercises can help release some of that pent-up stress. It will help empty your mind and introduce calming imagery in place of stressful thoughts. Also remember to breathe. Breathing helps relax muscles that become tense when you’re stressed. Pacing around and doing some stretches helps you unwind and prepares you to move your focus elsewhere.

Concentration

Conduct everything you do professionally, and you’ll get the respect you deserve. Don’t let stress get in the way of your ability to make a great presentation. After all, a stressed presenter doesn’t look good. It makes you look hostile, distancing you from your audience. Relaxation should come easily once you’ve identified and let go of what stresses you out.

Manage stress. Don’t let stress manage you.

Reference

“Stress Management.” Mayo Clinic. April 8, 2014. www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/basics/stress-basics/hlv-20049495

Featured Image: “StartupStockPhotos” on pixabay.com

Crafting Great Copy that Sells: Lessons from Stephen King

Posted on January 21, 2016July 22, 2024 by Rick E

There are famous writers who have contributed to the world of fictional and nonfictional writing. One of which is Stephen King, a renowned American author of horror, thriller, and sci-fi novels sold worldwide. He’s an inspiration both to his peers and to young, aspiring writers due to his high level of passion and motivation. Many regard him as one of the greatest writers of all time.

Among his standard rules for writing is drafting an interesting copy that readers will love, easily follow, and understand. Like King, you can market your brand through sharing great content online. Here’re some of his advice for crafting an effective copy that hooks the audience’s attention and keeps them interested:

Be Direct

Great ideas are the result of in-depth planning. You might not want to deliver a message without identifying which direction you wish to take and without considering what ideas would fit your audience’s needs and interests. Neglecting the brainstorming phase will only result in cluttered, disorganized content that will puzzle your readers.

Before deciding on what details to include in your draft, begin by looking for your big idea. Once you’re done, flesh out each idea then get straight to the point. King recommends removing noise in your text, such as lengthy introductions and unrelated information, which sidetrack readers from getting to your message.

Long and unwieldy sentences can confuse readers. Besides, your audience’s attention span can only last for a few seconds. Focus on the copy’s most relevant parts to convince readers to stick with the content and interpret the message correctly.

Make it worthwhile by making your content worth their while.

Be Authentic

King believes that realistic content enables readers to relate with what the writer is trying to say. If you’re writing about your brand’s features and benefits, concentrate on doing just that. Covering your core message with misleading facts will only undermine it. Overdoing things can also negatively affect your image.

Just like King’s approach in building up his characters, expound more on the positive aspects of your brand. At the same time, you don’t need to exaggerate and promise the readers things that you can’t really provide. Aside from being truthful to your audience, it’s important to use easy-to-understand words and to speak in a conversational tone. This helps you build a greater connection with them and avoid distractions.

Make sure that your copy clearly delivers your main point and stands out above the rest.

Be Patient

Letting your draft rest for a few minutes gives you time to take a new perspective when you return to it later on. This is because writing the same subject in one sitting can drain your energy and make you complacent.

Going back to your work enables you to remove irrelevant details that derail the content’s flow. Though editing your own copy can be difficult, it allows you to eliminate filler words and other information that don’t support your core message.

Giving yourself time to temporarily shift from what you’re doing lets you focus on other matters that can help you improve your content. Keep yourself from digressing and always go back to your main objective to avoid confusing the readers.

The Final Word: Don’t Rush, Focus on Quality

How you present your story influences the readers’ mind, thus affecting their overall perception of your brand. Whether you’re a writer or a presenter, your target audience needs content that easily captures their attention and keeps them interested.

Claim your competitive edge by being direct, authentic, and patient in writing. Convert the big idea into a great copy that readers will buy into!

Back up your writing skills with a visually appealing PowerPoint presentation and let our team offer you a free quote!

References:

“Killing the Filler: What Stephen King Can Teach Us About Copywriting.” Webcopyplus, June 9, 2010. www.blog.webcopyplus.com/2010/06/09/killing-the-filler-what-stephen-king-can-teach-us-about-copywriting

Featured Image: “write” by Sarah Reld on flickr.com

On the Other Slide: 3 PowerPoint Hacks to Improve Your Deck

Posted on January 20, 2016July 24, 2024 by Rick E

PowerPoint may be a user-friendly tool, but its functions go beyond templated slide designs and bullet-point lists. You don’t have to stick to plain slides and clunky graphics. Instead, why not improve your deck and create a design that’s suited for your presentation?

Here are some PowerPoint hacks to help you do just that:

1. Be Creative with Your Images

It’s no secret that the leading cause of Death by PowerPoint, or complete audience boredom, is a slide overloaded with too much information.

Replace blocks of text with images or keywords you can expound on. This leaves you free to talk more and keeps the audience’s attention fixed on you. However, some presenters use this as an excuse to insert random images in their slides in an uninspired layout.

Make your deck more interesting by being creative with your use of images. Instead of copy-pasting a stock image to the middle of your deck, why not crop and edit it first? Crop images to your desired size by dragging the crop handles that will appear around your picture once you format it. Creatively incorporating and tweaking images to perfectly fit your deck lets you illustrate the essence of your core message without boring your audience.

2. Enhance Design with Animation

Depending on how you use them, animation and transition can make or break your presentation.

Some presenters have been criticized for their excessive use of slide transitions and animations. For example, business presentations may require no more than a simple wipe. Overdoing it with a dramatic transition like Fracture or Dissolve may lessen your professional credibility.

Fortunately, Microsoft’s presented a solution to that problem and released one of PowerPoint’s latest features, Morph. The add-in allows users to create seamless and impressive animations that can also be used as a slide transition.The Morph option can be found under Transitions, and it lets you animate your desired slide element, which can be in the form of objects, text, or images.

Unlike the previous animation options for PowerPoint, this transition type requires you to draw out a work path for the object you want to animate. You can just drag the slide element in the direction you want it to go. When you view your presentation, the object will move on its own without needing a prompt, like a mouse click. This frees your hands and lets you further use body language to emphasize key points and connect with the audience instead of having to focus on operating a clicker.

3. Have Your Pitch in Mind

Everything on your deck should contribute to your pitch.

That said, the greatest PowerPoint hack is to always keep your pitch in mind when you’re crafting your slides. Extraneous elements will only distract the audience from your main point. Before adding anything, think about why you’re putting it there and whether it will enhance your spiel.

Keep an outline of your content to remind you of your slide order. Highlight key terms you want to emphasize in your visual aid so you’ll know what to include and what can be saved for verbal elaboration.

Decide whether you should plug in your data as text or whether you can improve on it by presenting it creatively. For example, diagrams, charts, and other visual representations may make hard information more palatable to your audience.

Content, delivery, and visuals should all go hand-in-hand, so don’t leave out one for the other. Make sure you develop each of these elements equally for an overall winning presentation.

The Takeaway: Take Advantage of PowerPoint’s Features

PowerPoint is a constantly growing software, rich with new features. Improvements in the presentation tool make it possible to improve your deck without too much hassle. To summarize:

Be creative with your deck design and experiment with image layout and position. Crop and edit pictures before putting them on your slides so that they can work together with your overall design to get your message across.
Make use of PowerPoint’s latest features, particularly Morph for animation, to make your deck more attractive and interactive.
At the same time, always align your deck with your pitch. Good design used inappropriately can still lead to a confusing presentation.

Craft a winning deck with these PowerPoint hacks, or contact our SlideGenius experts today for a free quote!

References:

“PowerPoint 2013: Formatting Pictures.” GCF Learn Free. www.gcflearnfree.org/powerpoint2013/17
“Using the Morph Transition in PowerPoint 2016.” Office Blogs. www.support.office.com/en-us/article/Using-the-Morph-transition-in-PowerPoint-2016-8dd1c7b2-b935-44f5-a74c-741d8d9244ea

3 Tips to Consider for Successful Trade Show Presentations

Posted on January 19, 2016July 24, 2024 by Rick E

Trade shows are sponsored events attended by professionals from various industries, all gathered to demonstrate their products and services to potential customers. Exhibitors don’t only get the chance to showcase their offerings in public, but they also get to face new business opportunities and build stronger relationships with their target market.

Do you want to take your brand to the next level? Here are some things to accomplish before the big day:

1. Map Out Your Strategy

Planning is key to any successful presentation. Skipping this stage opens you up to failure. Though speaking opportunities could come in short notice, you can avoid disappointing your audience or embarrassing yourself by planning ahead. According to marketing expert Jamil Bouchareb, having a set goal in mind as you prepare helps fine-tune your presentation.

Llisting down your objectives, identifying your target attendees, and choosing an appropriate booth location is as important as crafting your pitch because it lets you think of interesting ideas to achieve your business goals with less hassle.

Before you participate in any trade show presentations, put your objectives in place and know how to capture your client’s attention.

2. Think Like a Salesperson

Rejections are common to most sales professionals, but despite this, they still choose to focus on winning the client’s heart. Selling products is easy, but convincing consumers to purchase your offering is a serious task. This motivates salespeople to persuade their target market and develop good relationships with them.

Think like a sales professional who would make a big effort just to achieve positive results. Believe in yourself and in your products so that you can give them valuable statistics and credible information about your company’s strengths to help you achieve your desired outcome.

3. Provide Relevant Information

Identifying your objectives helps you draft a relevant outline for your pitch. In trade shows, you don’t need to share all the details about your business. A brief explanation of what you do and what you can offer is enough, especially with the limited time given.

Give your audience an overview of your product to boost their interest. Tell the crowd how your offering would benefit them by clearly explaining what you’re trying to say. Eliminate filler words, choose the right word instead of fancier but less-specific synonyms, and show relevant data whenever possible. Don’t forget to highlight your best product benefits to make it more appealing in a shorter amount of time so that they pay more attention to you throughout your pitch.

Summing It Up: Sell Your PowerPoint

Aside from informing your target audience with your brand offerings, your goal is to build connections that will eventually convert into sales.

Careful planning, thinking like a sales professional, and providing relevant information lets you accomplish your objective with flying colors. If you’re in doubt, our PowerPoint professionals can assist you with a free quote for your next deck.

References:

Bouchareb, Jamil. “Eight Great Tips for Rocking Trade Shows.” The Huffington Post. www.huffingtonpost.com/jamil-bouchareb/eight-great-tips-for-rock_b_8681590.html

Featured Image: “BIG Show Attendees – What Will It Take to Thrive in the Global Arena” by National Retail Federation on flickr.com

Build Alliances: The Key to Successful Business Presentations

Posted on January 18, 2016July 22, 2024 by Rick E

A business presentation’s success isn’t limited to charming delivery and useful content. What makes them really effective is when they turn audience members into paying customers.

There are many ways to attract people into buying your idea, but how do you guarantee results?

Fostering partnerships and networks is key to developing sales opportunities and new business contacts. You have to hit the ground running and foster alliances for presentation survival. Think of it as finding people to recruit in your group to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Here’s how to build strong defenses and alliances to make your pitch even more effective:

Build Up Your Base

It all starts with creating a visible and sound image. Maintaining your credibility leaves a good impression that helps you make new contacts.

Building trust is essential for growing a business network. Once they notice your sincerity, people will view you as someone with high authority and responsibility. Prepare conversation starters to let your audience know that you’re interested in cultivating professional relationships.

This is just the beginning of your road to presentation survival. Once you have them interested in your pitch, then you have to gain their confidence.

Be a Good Listener

Trust is developed from effective listening. Therefore, good listening habits greatly assist the process of establishing business connections.

Don’t just listen to people’s responses. Pay attention to the possible motivations and emotions reflected in their choice of words and changing tone. Harnessing this skill into a presentation tool makes your audience feel valued and respected. In turn, they’ll reciprocate that respect and listen to you, too.

However, you should never be complacent. Always look ahead to see how you can build relationships that last into the future.

Reconnect and Follow Up

The steps to forming business alliances don’t end in the presentation room. Follow up on people you’ve met and reestablish those connections to keep them interested. Do this even after your sales pitch is done.

Don’t go aimlessly after every networking opportunity that comes your way. Instead, sort your list of contacts and identify who among them is a potential network. Develop and use these contacts carefully to keep building new connections.

Keeping in touch even after your presentation helps you create a network while helping your audience remember your core message. If done well, it can also help you build an even bigger network over time.

Conclusion

Building alliances after your business presentations is a cost-effective strategy that generates growth and success. Build up your base to look and sound credible. Be a good listener to develop trust, and don’t forget to do strategic followups to maintain engagement.

Following these networking tips provide you greater opportunities and bigger contracts in the market.

References:

“Business networking.” Businessballs. n.d. www.businessballs.com/business-networking.htm

Match Made: Romancing the Audience for a Better Sales Pitch

Posted on January 15, 2016July 22, 2024 by Rick E

Business presentations aren’t confined to stiff and stuffy deliveries. You can find inspiration outside the boardroom, especially if you’re up for a sales pitch.

To outdo the competition and close your sales, you need to be creative enough when selling your product. One way to do this is to call up your inner Cupid to establish personal engagement that results in investment and loyalty.

Just like a great romance, your relationship with the customer should be a lasting passion. Don’t settle for shallow enthusiasm. Get your audience to love you.

Courtship

All romances and sales pitches start with the courtship stage.

Look up your prospects and align your marketing strategy to your client’s wants and needs. Your competition could be bigger, more experienced, and more influential. In this case, don’t try to beat them at their own game.

Try to create your own playing field.

In the book Brand Romance, brand experts Yasushi Kusume and Neil Gridley discuss high design principles that ensure customer loyalty. According to these principles, a recognizable brand identity is one way to effectively bring your product to the audience.

Introduce yourself during your pitch and build a narrative around your journey. After that, you can present a value proposition to show solutions unique to your services.

Have your visuals reflect your brand’s distinct character, whether by incorporating your logo or by using your company colors into the deck.

Passion

Think of your presentation as a first date with the audience. Sometimes, their attentiveness dies halfway through your speech because your offer might not be too impressive. People have a limited attention span, so make the most out of your pitch.

A bit of humor lightens the mood and disperses any lingering tension. However, make sure that all these seemingly unrelated points still lead back to you.

You can only entertain your listeners with interesting anecdotes for so long.

Delivering a dragging and winding speech not only distracts prospects from your major ideas but also dampens their interest.

Commitment

Don’t let the connection with your listeners go cold. Letting them walk away without convincing them of your importance will ruin your chances at making a sale.

Cover as many blind spots as you can, and avoid making common presentation mistakes that alienate the audience. Do away with fillers, but don’t force yourself to be perfect either. Act natural and be confident.

People feel more at ease with someone who uses the conversational tone while establishing their authority on stage. Take notes from your previous sales pitches to see which tactics worked to attract people and which ones failed.

Keep the Flame Alive

Be intimate with the audience, and court their interests by building upon your identity. Having a distinguishable personality sets you apart from the competition. Keep their attention by delivering engaging stories that eventually point back to your main pitch.

Finally, commit to maintaining their interest by constantly improving your public speaking skills. As in any relationship, the connection you make during your sales pitch should ideally lead to a long-term commitment for your business.

Need help with your presentation? Consult with our SlideGenius experts today for a free quote!

Featured Image: “A Taste of Romance.” by Esther Spektor on flickr.com

Sliding the Deck: 3 Uses of a Scrolling Web Pitch

Posted on January 14, 2016July 22, 2024 by Rick E

Technological advancement has become a major game changer in people’s lives. It transformed the way we interact with and perceive our surroundings, affecting the trends’ direction in recent years.

The onset of technology, particularly the Internet, has altered the way businesses do presentations. Gone are the days when a simple pitch is enough to satisfy an audience. Now, companies can reach out to prospects through various mediums.

The creation of a Web site or page has become a requirement for a business to be available to its target market, and even in that area, things are constantly changing. The scrolling Web pitch is an innovation that eliminates separate Web pages and allows any site visitor to scroll through your company’s features and journey seamlessly.

To seal the deal with an investor, use a scrolling Web pitch to warm them up and draw them in before your actual presentation.

Here are three reasons why:

Easy to Edit and Monitor

Do you want to edit text or images on your pitch? The scrolling Web pitch simplifies the process and offers better efficiency. Its design makes the scrolling Web pitch easier to monitor. You don’t have to go to individual pages to keep your content consistent since you can see everything in one place. Uploading your pitch online also gives you some insight on who else is interested in your product or services.

Other than investors, interested parties you might have overlooked can access you anytime, anywhere. Monitoring your page analytics and views lets you know whether your deck effectively attracts people. It’s a way of getting feedback without directly asking for it.

Emotional and Aesthetic Appeal

In his article for Digital Telepathy, UX/UI designer Nathan Weller expounds on the benefits of pageless Web design. Aside from its technical functions, Weller highlights the scrolling Web pitch’s strong visual appeal. Its clean design not only brings together a combination of image and text that makes use of current graphic design trends but also communicates your story. Like an old-fashioned presentation, page-less pitches still depend on narratives to connect with its audience.

Unlike earlier versions of Web sites, your viewers are free to experience this narrative without the hassle of moving from one link to another. People can even interact with the page through various elements you can leave for your site visitors to enjoy.

Among these are simple animations like images that move or buttons that emit sound when someone hovers their mouse over them. The easy navigation it provides make scrolling Web pitches more understandable and palatable. It compresses information and data without compromising quality, saving both you and your client’s time.

Higher Lead Conversion

The end goal of any pitch is to increase sales leads and volume. Scrolling Web pitches achieve that by being attractive avenues for your prospects to interact with your business. The nature of its layout improves your prospect’s perspective on your product and leaves a better, more lasting impression on them.

Another advantage is how shareable your content becomes. Sharing articles, images, and even whole Web sites online is the new word of mouth in the age of the Internet. Because the page-less pitch is available at the click of a link, anyone can view and share it. This increases other people’s awareness of your product and expands your network of customers. With the scrolling Web pitch, the client goes to you.

Conclusion

There are many benefits to using a scrolling Web pitch. It’s easier to edit and is more visually appealing than page-by-page Web sites. It also effortlessly draws attention to your business, increasing lead conversion and expanding your connections.

While the page-less pitch doesn’t act as an exact replacement for an investor presentation, it’s still a good warm up before your actual speech. It may seem difficult to create, but with the help of a presentation guru, you can upload your own scrolling Web pitch in no time.

Contact our SlideGenius experts today for a free quote!

References:

Weller, Nathan B. “8 Reasons Why Pageless Design is the Future of the Web.” Digital Telepathy. June 5, 2013. www.dtelepathy.com/blog/design/8-reasons-why-pageless-design-is-the-future-of-the-web

Featured Image: “Electronic Library” by Emilio Labrador on flickr.com

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