DYIC: Discover Your Inner Consultant – Part 3

"YOUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION"

Step 3 of the DYIC approach is to create your PowerPoint presentation.

This is a professional-looking set of 6-8 slides that cover your main topic of expertise. “Why is this important?”, you may ask. You need to have this ready at a moment’s notice, in case the local Rotary Club or whoever says, “Hey, we need a speaker for our luncheon next week. Can you speak to us about your new business?” You had better have an eye-catching presentation ready!

• Slide 1: Title Slide with your company name and logo if you have one, along with the title of your presentation if that applies. (NOTE: A logo is optional but recommended. AI is making logo creation much easier nowadays.)

• Slide 2: About Me. It is important that the audience know who it is that is speaking to them today. (If you are introduced before you speak, with a detailed description of who you are, then this slide can be lightly touched on or skipped, as you don’t want to waste time being redundant.) Limit your credentials/bio to 6 bullet points max, very short and to the point. Abbreviate as much as possible.

• Slide 3: My Story. A compelling story that puts your expertise in a personal context that the audience can easily identify with. Put a few bullet points that prompt the story that you tell them in full length.

• Slide 4: Overview. Give an overview of your topic with 5 or 6 bullet points. Then read the audience. If they are leaning in and responding positively, then proceed to Slide 5. Otherwise, fast-forward to your Contact Me slide.

• Slide 5: The Details. Provide one (two at the most!) slide(s) with the technical bullet points that substantiate (undergird and confirm) your expertise on your subject matter. This will satisfy the technical folks in the audience who are curious as to how deep your level of expertise is. But don’t overdo it! You don’t want to bore a room full of people with a lot of techno-speak.

• Slide 6: Wrap-up. In your wrap-up, you want to connect with as many of your potential customers or clients in the audience as possible. Be sure to tie your services to some aspect of their business or operation, how it will create value for them, and if possible, tie it back to your original story (Slide 3) so that it will be memorable for them a few days later! This is called "the business hook" and increases them remembering you and your expertise for a long time.

• Slide 7: Contact Me. Here you may want to create an eye-catching slide with your name, company name, picture (optional), phone number, web address, email, etc. Encourage the audience to snap a picture of it, creating a digital business card for them to take with them. (Always have some old-fashioned business cards in your pocket, too, just in case.)

• Slide 8: Thank you! Your final slide simply says Thank You for them giving you their attention for your presentation. And be genuine in your gratitude. Ask yourself, would you rather listen to a speaker who is over-confident and prideful, or one who is humble and service-oriented?

You will typically get about 20 minutes to present. Be sure to move steadily and smoothly through each slide and stick with your time limit. Be friendly and engaging. Act like you are exciting about your work and the opportunity to tell others about it. If you end early, ask for questions from the audience.

DESIGN TIPS

• Use PowerPoint’s design tools to pick a background and color scheme that is both professional looking and blends well with the color scheme of your logo, if you have one.

• Use a font-size that is large enough to be seen on the screen from the back of the room but not so big that your bullet-points don’t all fit on the page.

• Do NOT exceed 6 bullet-points per page.

Obviously, if the place where you are speaking does not offer a laptop computer, projector and screen that supports PowerPoint, you can either invest in those for your business or think about other creative ways of getting your presentation done.

In closing, remember that you can access the coaching services of TGG on a fractional basis as needed. Check back soon for our next installment in the DYIC series.