The other day, a friend of mine wanted my advice on pricing the redesign of her client’s pitch deck, the initial presentation shown to a prospect to get hired. When I opened the presentation, my jaw literally dropped because it was an 11-page résumé in 16-point type sandwiched between a title slide … [Read more...] about You are not the focus of your PowerPoint presentation
Why you should never send your PowerPoint decks to people who ask for them
How many times have people asked you to send them your deck, either after or (worse) instead of your presentation? On the surface it seems like an OK idea. It requires minimal effort and we don't want to appear rude by saying no. And it's a common enough request, so why not, right? Don't do it. The … [Read more...] about Why you should never send your PowerPoint decks to people who ask for them
Are you presenting for yourself or your audience?
Mary Nell McCorquodale is a management consultant with decades of experience presenting to savvy audiences, from C-level professionals to top brass in the US Military. As a young presenter, she learned very quickly that if you stick to your own agenda without finding out what your audience wants … [Read more...] about Are you presenting for yourself or your audience?
PowerPoint for Print? Sometimes!
Last week, I did some work for a client who wanted me to create an image library in PowerPoint. The person I was working with was appalled and would have preferred doing the job using InDesign. While it's true that InDesign would have yielded professional results, this time it wasn't the right tool … [Read more...] about PowerPoint for Print? Sometimes!
How do you communicate?
About a month ago, I submitted a proposal for a fairly small job to a new potential client. A couple of weeks went by, then he emailed me requesting a meeting. Believing that I had outlined my role in the project very specifically in the proposal, I wasn't keen on attending a second, unpaid project … [Read more...] about How do you communicate?