Tag: Presentation Firm

How Much Should a Presentation Deck Cost?

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SlideGenius

Aug 16, 2013

“How much does it cost to hire a graphic designer to create a PowerPoint presentation for me?”

This is a common question we often get right off the bat from potential clients looking for a PowerPoint specialist, but it’s not a simple question to answer.  First, we need to know about your business needs, your resources, and your goals. Are you a small startup or a Fortune 500?  Basically, it’s a very personalized process, and there’s no blanket answer for it.

It’s a lot like asking, “how much does it cost for you to make me a website?”

How much does a pitch deck cost?
Pitch Deck Designer Cost

There are a myriad of factors that go into the cost:

How big of a business are you?

How high-end do you want your website to be?

Do you already have a website to use as a foundation?

What kind of functionality do you want the website to have?

Just like web design, there are quite a few factors that we custom tailor to the needs of each client when landing on the price for their deck. That means what your presentation deck costs can be a little… or a lot.

The Low End Pitch Deck ($1,000 to $3,000)

Prices in this range fall into two categories, returning clients looking to improve a deck they’ve already had designed, and they’d like to perform relatively minor improvements to it.  A complete overhaul of a presentation requires much more time and effort.

The other group that falls into this category are those looking for a new, custom-designed deck, but are only willing to pay the bare-bones price for it, which we highly discourage.  Having a solid visual aid is the second most important part of a presentation.  The first is showing up.  You don’t want to skimp on your PowerPoint presentation, because that’s sure to leave a bad taste in the mouths of potential clients or investors.

Remember, a professional PowerPoint presentation is an investment.  An investment that will surely produce an ROI and help impress and attract new clients, which is the opposite effect that a mediocre presentation will have.  A bad impression is worse than no impression at all.

Mid-range Presentation Design ($3,000 to $10,000)

Most of our clients fall into this range. This involves either significantly revamping a previous presentation, or doing a new presentation involving a significant amount of animation and custom graphic design.

How much does a ppt deck cost?
Presentation Deck Cost

The wide amount of variation in this range depends largely on the quantity of slides in your deck and the amount of graphic design and animation needed on each slide. Again, costs here can be greatly leveraged depending on how much copywriting, design, and multimedia is being brought to the table by the client.

The Upper End Presentation Services ($10,000 to $50,000)

If you’re a young startup looking to breaking in to a competitive, high-end market and you don’t have much to show for yourself concerning branding or multimedia, we can do it all for you, but it will be a significant cost. Building a public, corporate identity through a presentation is a huge task, so it’s best to do it right the first time.

This range also includes multi-deck projects and large decks nearing the triple-digit slide count.  Also in this range are the custom-designed slide libraries, which are essentially an interchangeable database of slides that can be catered to the individual needs of sales teams with in larger companies, while maintaining a consistent set of slides controlled by management.

We’ve found the most satisfied clients are the ones who view presentation and pitch deck design as an evolving, ongoing relationship.  While a small startup may initially only have the resources for a fairly basic presentation, they are able to continue working with us, and improve the professionalism, appeal, and selling power of their presentation as their business expands, and they have more to invest in a presentation’s power to attract new clients.

This allows the client to not only spend just the resources they have available, they’re able to constantly pinpoint and customize exactly what they want out of a presentation, and consequently, as presentation designers, we’re able to figure out over time exactly what optimizes your business from a presentation point of view.  We work best when our process and your business grow alongside one another.

The Importance of StoryBoarding: You Wouldn’t Make a Movie Without Writing a Script

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Aug 15, 2013

Imagine trying to create a movie without a script or a plan—chaos would ensue. Just as filmmakers need to visualize their scenes and script each shot, presenters need to map out their presentations to ensure clarity, flow, and impact. This is where storyboarding comes in. Storyboarding allows you to organize your ideas visually before diving into creating slides, helping you deliver a more cohesive and engaging presentation.

Here’s why storyboarding is crucial to crafting a winning presentation:

1. Clarifies Your Message and Structure

Storyboarding forces you to think about the main message you want to convey and how best to organize your content. By planning each slide’s purpose and its relationship to the overall presentation, you ensure that your message is clear and structured logically.

Why It Matters:

  • Improved Flow: Storyboarding helps you ensure that each slide follows logically from the last, leading to a coherent narrative that guides your audience seamlessly from point to point.
  • Avoids Overwhelm: Without a storyboard, it’s easy to overwhelm your audience with too much information. Planning ahead allows you to streamline your content, focusing only on the essential information.

Example: A marketing presentation might begin with a slide introducing the problem, followed by slides that present data, explain solutions, and end with a call to action. Storyboarding this sequence ensures clarity and flow.

2. Visualizes the Design Early

Storyboarding allows you to experiment with design concepts, including layouts, images, and text placement, before committing to creating slides. This ensures that your design complements your message and helps you achieve a polished and professional final presentation.

Why It Matters:

  • Consistency: Storyboarding helps you maintain visual consistency across slides, including the use of fonts, colors, and images. This cohesiveness makes your presentation look more professional.
  • Design Choices: You can plan where to place key visuals, such as graphs, infographics, or images, to support your message and avoid overcrowding your slides.

Example: By storyboarding a financial report presentation, you can plan where graphs and data visualizations will be placed, ensuring they’re spaced out effectively and not crammed onto a single slide.

3. Helps with Time Management

Presentations often have strict time limits. Storyboarding allows you to plan how much time you’ll spend on each section and slide, ensuring you don’t run over your allotted time. It helps you balance content between slides, keeping your presentation concise and impactful.

Why It Matters:

  • Stays Within Time Limits: Storyboarding helps you allocate time to each section, ensuring you give enough attention to important points without going overboard.
  • Reduces Last-Minute Changes: A well-thought-out storyboard saves time in the slide creation process. It reduces the need for last-minute adjustments that often arise when slides are created without proper planning.

Example: If your storyboard indicates you’ve planned too much content for a 10-minute presentation, you can adjust early on by condensing points or breaking content into multiple presentations, saving you time during final preparation.

4. Simplifies Collaboration

When working on a team project, storyboarding helps everyone align on the presentation’s direction and content. It provides a clear visual outline, ensuring that each team member knows what’s expected, and that the overall presentation remains cohesive.

Why It Matters:

  • Encourages Feedback: A storyboard provides a tangible framework for team members to review and offer feedback before creating slides. This ensures any issues are addressed early in the process.
  • Divides Responsibilities: Storyboarding allows team members to divide work efficiently, with each person responsible for specific sections or slides based on the plan.

Example: In a product pitch, the marketing team might focus on early slides that introduce the problem, while the engineering team focuses on solution slides. A storyboard ensures these sections fit together seamlessly.

5. Prevents Design Overload

Without a storyboard, it’s easy to focus too much on flashy graphics and animations rather than the content itself. Storyboarding allows you to focus on the message first, ensuring that any design elements you add later serve a purpose and don’t detract from the message.

Why It Matters:

  • Content-First Approach: Storyboarding ensures you focus on the message before getting caught up in design elements, preventing unnecessary or distracting animations, transitions, or visuals.
  • Design with Purpose: By outlining each slide’s purpose in your storyboard, you ensure that any design or visuals enhance the message rather than overwhelm it.

Example: When storyboarding a sales presentation, you can decide where to place emphasis on key stats or figures, ensuring that any animations or transitions are used sparingly and effectively to highlight those points.

Final Thoughts

Storyboarding your presentation is essential for organizing your ideas, ensuring a smooth flow of content, and creating a professional, visually appealing deck. Just like a movie script, a storyboard helps you visualize and structure your narrative, keeping your audience engaged from start to finish. Whether you’re working solo or collaborating with a team, investing time in the storyboarding phase can dramatically improve the quality and impact of your final presentation.

Incorporating Humor into a Presentation

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Aug 15, 2013

Humor is a surprisingly effective tool in public speaking. No matter what level of professionalism you find yourself presenting at, a bit of comedic relief is almost always refreshing.

Sometimes the gravest, driest, or most technical speeches can often be the most in need of humor. Dense, heavy speeches can be very demanding, even exhausting for an audience, and eventually listeners may get weary and lose focus. Injecting a little humor into your PowerPoint presentation is helpful in relieving some built up tension.

Humor might not be for you

A joke or two–maybe a witty comment here or there–can really brighten up a speech, engage your audience, and help make a lasting impression, but when done poorly, it can not only create a cringe-worthy situation, it can take all credibility from your speech.

If you’re very uncomfortable using humor in casual conversation or in your personal life, it may not be worth the risk in an important presentation, because a flubbed joke can have a devastating impact on a speech.

Practice!

You might be one of those effortlessly hilarious people that’s constantly making your friends laugh, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expect to make an audience laugh so easily, or so spontaneously.

Man in the mirror
While you may feel a bit foolish telling jokes to yourself in the mirror, the practice will pay off when it counts.

Good joke telling is about timing and delivery, and that requires rehearsal. Don’t risk fumbling over your words or forgetting a key part of the joke. As lame as it sounds, practice your jokes privately or work them into conversations to test the waters of how people react.

Don’t shy away from self-effacing humor

This may sound counter intuitive, but self-effacing, or self deprecating humor can show your audience you possess confidence in who you are, because you’re comfortable enough to laugh at yourself. An embarrassing story from the past can help establish trust between you and your audience by showing a human side to yourself.

And remember, never make jokes at others’ expense. While you may get a few laughs out of it, nobody’s going to respect you any more for it.

Most Importantly…

Have a point! So many people make the innocent mistake of injecting humor in their presentations just for humor’s sake. It’s important to remember that we aren’t stand-up comedians, we’re giving a presentation, which means we’re there to convey information in a direct, yet interesting way. If humor helps us further this goal and present in a more effective manner, then all the better. However, if you’re just telling jokes purely to make the audience laugh, sure, they might have more fun, but they’ll retain less of the information you’re their to present.

So tread lightly, consider your audience carefully, and be extremely conscious of being tasteful and good-spirited, but most importantly, have fun! It’ll be much easier for your audience to enjoy your presentation if you do as well.

Turn Your PowerPoint Presentation into a Video

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Aug 14, 2013

While a human element is naturally ideal for presentations, you don’t always have to be in the room with your audience for them to hear your pitch. Turn your PowerPoint presentation into a video, and the amount of people you’re capable of exposing your presentation to increases enormously.

While your professionally designed PowerPoint is obviously a big asset during a presentation, you can further leverage it by using it as a standalone marketing tool.

If you’re simply looking for a way to show people the bare-bones of the presentation in a video format, the conversion process is simple (Here’s a good How To by Microsoft).

This can be useful for internal communication as well. For instance, if you’d like to share a presentation within your company, converting and sending it as a video allows others to open and view it without Microsoft PowerPoint, making it accessible on smartphones and tablets.

SlideGenius can design your presentation to be a video presentation, including professional voice recording and script writing, which is obviously preferable to converting a professional PowerPoint to a video on your own. By having SlideGenius create the entire video package, you guarantee that the video has the same level of professionalism and quality as your in-person presentation.

If this is a tool you plan on using to market your business with–whether you’re posting it on your website or promoting it through social media–you should make it as professional as if you were giving a presentation to potential clients or investors.

References:

“4 PowerPoint Resources You Can’t Miss Out On.” SlideGenius. November 20, 2013.

“Turn Your Presentation into a Video.” Support.office.com.

A Guide to Tackling Stage Fright

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Aug 13, 2013

Public speaking can be intimidating, even for seasoned professionals. Stage fright, or the fear of speaking in front of an audience, affects many presenters. Whether it’s the thought of being judged, making mistakes, or simply standing in front of a crowd, stage fright can interfere with delivering your message effectively. However, with the right approach, you can overcome this anxiety and deliver a powerful presentation. Here’s a comprehensive guide to tackling stage fright and becoming a more confident speaker.

1. Prepare Thoroughly

The foundation of a successful presentation lies in preparation. When you know your material inside out, you’re less likely to stumble or lose your train of thought. Break your content into key points and rehearse them multiple times until you’re comfortable.

  • Organize Your Content: Outline the structure of your presentation clearly, with an engaging introduction, body, and conclusion.
  • Practice Out Loud: Rehearsing your speech out loud can help you hear how your ideas flow and allow you to make necessary adjustments. If possible, practice in front of a friend or record yourself.
  • Familiarize Yourself with the Venue: If you have access to the presentation space beforehand, take a walk around the stage and familiarize yourself with the setup.

2. Visualize Success

Visualization is a powerful tool that can help you conquer stage fright. Instead of focusing on what could go wrong, visualize yourself delivering a confident and engaging presentation. Picture the audience reacting positively, and imagine the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel afterward.

  • Focus on Positive Outcomes: Think about your audience being engaged and applauding your performance. Visualizing success can boost your confidence and reduce nervousness.
  • Adopt a Power Pose: Before going on stage, stand in a confident posture for a few minutes—this is known as a “power pose.” It can trick your brain into feeling more assured and in control.

3. Practice Deep Breathing

When anxiety strikes, your heart rate increases, and your breathing may become shallow. Deep breathing exercises are a quick and effective way to calm your nerves before stepping on stage.

  • Breathe Deeply: Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of four, hold for four, and then exhale for another count of four. Repeat this several times until you feel more centered.
  • Relax Your Body: As you breathe, consciously relax your muscles, especially in your shoulders and neck, where tension often accumulates. This will help you feel more grounded and composed.

4. Focus on the Message, Not Yourself

A common source of stage fright is the fear of being judged. Shift your focus away from yourself and place it on the message you’re trying to convey. Remember that the audience is there to gain something valuable from your presentation, not to scrutinize every word or gesture.

  • Shift Attention to the Audience’s Needs: Concentrate on how your presentation benefits the audience. By focusing on their needs rather than your own performance, you can divert your mind from self-consciousness.
  • Engage the Audience: Ask questions, encourage participation, or share stories to make the presentation more interactive. Engaging with the audience helps to build a connection, making the experience less daunting.

5. Start with a Strong Opening

First impressions matter. Starting your presentation confidently can set the tone for the rest of your performance. Craft an opening that grabs attention and gives you a sense of control.

  • Use a Powerful Quote or Statistic: Starting with a compelling quote, statistic, or even a short story can draw in the audience and boost your confidence from the beginning.
  • Make Eye Contact: Engage with the audience by making eye contact with a few friendly faces in the room. This will make the presentation feel more conversational and help calm your nerves.

6. Accept and Embrace Nervousness

It’s important to recognize that nervousness is a natural part of public speaking. Even experienced presenters feel anxiety before a big speech. Rather than trying to eliminate your nerves, work with them.

  • Channel Nervous Energy Positively: A certain level of anxiety can actually heighten your focus and make you more alert. Channel this energy into enthusiasm for your subject.
  • Normalize Your Feelings: Remember, many people in the audience likely experience stage fright themselves, and they will empathize with you.

7. Use Positive Affirmations

The way you talk to yourself matters. Negative thoughts like “I’ll mess up” or “They won’t like my presentation” can intensify anxiety. Replace these thoughts with positive affirmations.

  • Repeat Positive Phrases: Tell yourself things like, “I am well-prepared,” “I can do this,” or “The audience wants to hear what I have to say.” This shift in mindset can significantly reduce stress and build confidence.

8. Learn to Laugh at Mistakes

Mistakes happen to everyone. What matters is how you handle them. Instead of getting flustered, laugh off small errors and move on. Your audience is likely more forgiving than you think.

  • Don’t Dwell on It: If you stumble over a word or lose your train of thought, take a breath, smile, and continue. Chances are the audience won’t even notice.
  • Use Humor: If appropriate, self-deprecating humor can lighten the mood and show the audience that you’re human too.

9. Gather Feedback and Reflect

Once the presentation is over, gather feedback from trusted colleagues or audience members. Use their constructive criticism to improve for future presentations. The more you present, the more comfortable you’ll become.

  • Reflect on Your Successes: Take time to acknowledge what went well in your presentation. Focusing on your strengths will build your confidence for next time.
  • Embrace Continuous Improvement: Feedback is essential for growth. View each presentation as an opportunity to refine your skills and lessen your fear over time.

Final Thoughts

Stage fright may seem overwhelming, but with practice and the right techniques, it can be managed. By focusing on preparation, engaging with the audience, and maintaining a positive mindset, you can overcome anxiety and deliver presentations with confidence. Remember, every great presenter has felt fear at some point—what sets them apart is their ability to face it head-on and continue moving forward. You’ve got this!

4 Rules for Boosting Creativity for Your Presentation

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VALUABLE

VALUEBLE

Aug 12, 2013

It’s one thing to show a few slides with some bullet points, pictures and graphs; it’s another to give a presentation. Weird, right? That kinda’ sounds like the same thing… wrong.

Presentations are meant to inform, engage, and inspire audiences- the former does none of these things. With that, I’ll amend my original statement to this: It’s one thing to show a few slides with some bullet points, pictures and graphs, but it’s another to give a VALUABLE presentation.

Valuable presentations, like most aspects of business, stem from creativity. Unfortunately there is a strong misconception about creativity in today’s society as it is commonly believed that it only comes to select group of people. The truth is that everyone has the capacity to be creative, which means everyone has the ability to create a valuable presentation. The key to being creative in your professional PowerPoint presentation comes before the actual construction of the presentation. 

To improve one’s conditions for innovation, one must create the appropriate setting. Here are the 4 rules to boost your creativity within your presentations:

1. You must create a space for yourself to be uninterrupted for a specific amount of time.

This is called “creative block”-  A specific starting and finishing time is necessary to effectively cultivate a “creative space.” If you have trouble focusing on getting your presentation up to the level it should be, creative blocks are the answer. Without defined times and spaces, it is too easy to drift back into dealing with the everyday stress and problems, something that will prevent you from advancing creatively and effectively. 

2. Surround yourself with soothing senses.

The sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch in your environment will dictate your state of mind. In light of that, placing yourself in a peaceful setting, with plants, light, or soothing scent will help stir up your creative mind. In fact, studies show that the more senses your body feels at any given time, the harder your brain will work to react. The harder your brain works, the more creative your actual work becomes.

“Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating.”

-John Cleese

3. Cut your fat every time.

Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs & Ham after betting that he couldn’t produce a story using less than 50 words. The research shows that Seuss was on to something. Most people naturally take the path of “least resistance” and build off of older or existing concepts when brainstorming, which can lead to less creative ideas.

Cutting the fat, or raising the bar in what you do, will allow you to produce more creative work. Follow Dr. Seuss and place restrictions on yourself while creating whatever it is you create. If you usually write two page posts, go for one page!

Even Steve Jobs practiced this fat cutting principle. When the first official prototype of the iPhone 3 was created, he brought it into an engineers meeting, and dropped it into a clear box of water. He stood there and watched the bubbles from inside the device float up. He then proved to his designers that the phone could be trimmed in size based off the amount of air it released. He had the prototype made smaller and thinner, which in turn made a more appealing product. The limiting nature of any given task can bring out one’s most creative side.

4. Rethink and Renew.

Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” Instead of rushing into creating your presentation, it is better to visualize the problem you are working on in several angles. Most presenters think they know what their work is and how it needs to be done, but the fact of the matter is that few people actually take the time to analyze what they’re doing as being the most effective or efficient.

Clearly, there is always the issue of time constraints, but just because you take longer to plan doesn’t mean you’ll take longer to finish. In fact, it is quite possible, that in taking time to thoroughly think you will find that you need less work done than you previously thought, or that the work can actually be done in more efficient ways.

You don’t need to be a professional PowerPoint designer to find the best approach for your presentation. Oftentimes, the best approach is to picture the intended audience of your next presentation. Think of what inspires them. What angers them? What problems do they face? What market are they a part of?

Instead of rushing to start your presentation design, spend more time thinking of what you’re even doing, why you’re doing it and what can be made better?

einstein thoughts

References:

Ciotti, Gregory. “7 Ways to Boost Your Creativity.” 99u. May 29, 2013.

“Presentation Resolutions: 3 Tips to Help You Progress in 2014.” SlideGenius. January 2, 2014.

Reynolds, Garr. “Tips on How to Be More Creative by John Cleese.” Presentation Zen. July 27, 2012.

“Steve Jobs: Creating an Engaging Presentation.” SlideGenius. July 23, 2013.

It Doesn’t Matter, Any Tequila!

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Aug 09, 2013

Sure it’s funny, but think if it wasn’t about tequila, and instead it was about your business. You obviously wouldn’t be laughing.

If you’re looking for a house to live in, would you choose one by saying this to your realtor, “It doesn’t matter, any house?”

How about when finding a spouse? Or what about when your choosing a major in college?

Any semi-rational person would not. Houses, spouses, and careers are all monumental aspects to someone’s life and because of that, people tend to weigh out the pros and cons thoroughly when it comes to any decision.

Much like houses, spouses and careers are huge aspects to someone’s life, the way the world identifies with your company is one of the most crucial aspects to its success. When you are presenting yourself, or more importantly your company, to an audience of buyers, sellers, investors, or whoever, it is imperative to come off as a professional, valuable, and effective entity.

Impressions you give

Most people will judge whether or not they like you, dislike you, find you interesting or boring in a matter of minutes, sometimes even seconds. These minutes are what can lead to earning or losing new clients or sales. Knowing that your presentations have this much significance, a rational person wouldn’t say “It doesn’t matter, any presentation.” In fact, they would focus on making that presentation the best it could possibly be.

This is where you bring in professional presentations designers, like SlideGenius. SlideGenius is headquartered in San Diego, California with over 500 Worldwide Clients. The “Geniuses” (presentation experts) see on average over 200 presentations per month and have years of professional experience creating captivating PowerPoint presentations for a wide variety of clients.

Bringing in Professionals

The Geniuses can update an existing presentation or build one from scratch, leveraging your brand. SlideGenius works with you to ensure that the message you want to get across to your audience is communicated as effectively as possible, while leaving your audience impressed with a polished, professional presentation.

 If you do not have a professionally designed PowerPoint Presentation you are undeniably leaving business on the table. Many sales people have reported an increase of up to 25-50% in closed sales simply by providing a highly visual presentation.

When it comes to your business, don’t take just anything. Take the best, and be the best.

Work Cited:
Http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7tlp/hornitos-plata-tequila-any

3 Additional Perks of Getting a PowerPoint Presentation Specialist

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Aug 08, 2013

As much as we hate tooting our own horn (mostly true), we want to expand on our recent post, “3 Reasons Why You Need a PowerPoint Specialist.”

In the previous post, we listed a few of the reasons why our clients have found that having a professional PowerPoint design made was imperative for businesses to be perceived as professional and competent. So if you’re a business that wants to be perceived as unprofessional and incompetent, our services aren’t for you. So here are a few more reasons why you can’t afford to skimp on presentation design.

Build Confidence in Your Audience, Yourself

Would you rather show up to the Monaco Gran Prix in a MacLaren F1 or that dinky Honda Civic you drove in high school? It wouldn’t matter if you were the best driver that’s ever been behind the wheel, you’re not going to fare well with a hunk of junk car.

It often doesn’t matter how excellent a presenter or public speaker you are, if you show up with an amateur presentation, your presentation ability won’t be evident, and your presentation won’t impress anyone. In order for your audience–whether that be investors, potential clients or employers–to have confidence in you, your professionalism and capability need to be apparent.

Make the Sell

A professionally designed presentation is an expense, but more importantly, it’s an investment.

Our promise to clients, “We design presentations that sell,” is just that: A promise. The increase in business our clients experienced after deciding to show up to important presentations with a professionally designed presentation caused them to continue to employ our services.

More Efficient Allocation of Resources

We’re better than you are at designing PowerPoint presentations. We’re sure you’re better at doing whatever it is your business does too. Outsourcing can be a valuable tool in employing outside expertise when it comes to specialized services.

Many remain skeptical about outsourced services, fearing the hidden costs and lack of transparency, but we’ll walk you through every step of our process here at SlideGenius, so you know exactly what you’re paying for.

Allowing clients to see our process in action lets them realize the number of man hours they save by outsourcing their presentation design to us, thus being able to spend time on the business they do best, or on preparing for the oral portion of their presentation while we focus on the visual aspect.

 

Reference:

“3 Reasons Why You Need a PowerPoint Presentation Specialist.” SlideGenius. August 1, 2013.

How to Survive Through Shark Tank

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Shark Tank

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Aug 07, 2013

My name is Joe Shmo and I would like $100,000 for a 10% stake in my company.

Every Friday night, about 7 million Americans seem to hear that phrase, or some almost-identical derivative of it, in the prime-time feeding frenzy, Shark Tank.

Rolling into its fifth season, the eminent television series attracts promising startups to pitch their business venture to a 5-person panel of highly successful entrepreneurs (potential investors) to be ruthlessly chewed up by the panelists’ multitude of interrogative questions.

As of December of last year, at the closing of its latest season, the show’s panel members had invested “$12.4 million in the business opportunities.” During that same 2012 season, more than 36,000 people applied to become contestants on the show.

The 5th season’s panel will include highly successful venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, co-founder of the Paul Mitchell and The Patron Spirits Company John Paul Dejoria, and other business magnates sitting in as the Sharks. You never know whether the pitch will go totally right or deliciously wrong. After four drama-filled seasons, we have gathered two unique and effective rules to present by when it comes to surviving the Shark Tank.

Focus on the facts and figures

This is the single most important rule to follow when pitching your professional PowerPoint presentation. Your investor will primarily focus on what costs and sales you had, have, and think you’ll have– which mean you should too. Whether you’re pitching to investors or presenting to grow your business, it’s vital that you understand your business’s cash flow. Passion and motivation are great for business, but they only get you so far, as we’ve learned from many of the Sharks; numbers tell the real story.

What’s your story?

This is the essential question you need to have answered before beginning your presentation. Aside from the numbers, the one thing sharks focus on most is you and what better ways to show who you are than through your story. Your story is basically the long, twisted, and rocky road you took to get to where you are now. Speaking frankly, people eat these emotional stories up. What human can’t relate to hardship? We are all programmed to empathize to emotions, both good and bad ones. As long as you don’t overdo it, you can utilize the story to reel your sharks in.

Along with your story comes the “sub-rule” to be personable. While all of the above will get you closer to your dream of running a successful business, it also helps to have a winning personality. No one wants to do business with someone who is unlikable, except maybe Mr. Wonderful. As Shark Barbara Corcoran said in a recent tweet, “All the entrepreneurs I’ve invested in have amazing personalities—no regrets.”

Be clear, precise, and confident

This is the last rule we have to share. Much like your sharks will focus on numbers and personality, effective communication is the third and last key component to survival. You need to speak simply, and confidently. This will show your sharks you mean business and that you understand your business. Don’t come across cocky. Once you rub the sharks the wrong way, tension will take over, which would screw up any prospect of dealing with one another. Think before you speak, and don’t act impetuously. Once your shark comments and asks a question, take a breath, and then respond. Acting out too quickly may draw blood. This is true for any investor presentation or professional PowerPoint.

If you’re going to swim with the sharks be prepared. Use these rules for your next professional PowerPoint design!

READ MORE: 7 Entrepreneurial Lessons from “Shark Tank” – Fast Company

Public Speaking Lessons to Take Away from “The King’s Speech”

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The King's Speech

Aug 06, 2013

Released to huge acclaim from audiences and critics in 2011, The King’s Speech details King George VI’s struggle to overcome his stammer and fear of public speaking, and his relationship with his unconventional speech therapist Lionel Logue.

While it’s a very captivating movie, it also has a lot of practical application as a guide to public speaking, and there are many lessons to learn from the challenges King George VI overcame during his journey in becoming an effective public speaker.

Confidence is Key

The primary struggle of The King’s Speech is King George VI’s struggle to learn to trust his voice. Throughout the film, he learned to become comfortable in his own skin and accept his faults, which translated to overcoming his stutter.

Confidence is imperative to giving an effective presentation, especially during an investor or interview presentation where instilling confidence in one’s audience is a must. It’s difficult to fake sincere confidence, which emanates throughout your presentation in a variety of ways, but if you can’t find confidence in your ability to speak in public, a good substitute is to reassure yourself with confidence for what you’re presenting.

During the film, a primary reason “Bertie” developed his stammer and fear of public speaking was because he got caught in a cycle of negative reinforcement, where previous public speaking failures caused him to lose confidence in himself, and resulted in him continuing to give poor speeches because of it. After a bad presentation, it’s important to learn from your mistakes, then forget about the bad performance and move forward.

Realize There is Room for Improvement

Chances are you’re not the greatest presenter or public speaker on the planet. There is always room for improvement. However, for those who struggle with public speaking, the greater challenge isn’t realizing you have a problem, but openly addressing it.

Whether you seek to improve your public speaking privately, with a college course or elsewhere, the most important factor is that you are addressing the fact that public speaking is a challenge for you. Running and hiding from it will do nothing but make the problem worse.

One of my favorite moments in The King’s Speech was the conversation between “Bertie” and his speech therapist when he admitted he needed help:

“Lionel Logue: What was your earliest memory?
King George VI: I’m not… -here to discuss… -personal matters.
Lionel Logue: Why are you here then?
King George VI: Because I bloody well stammer!”

Practice

Every great presenter, especially those whose skill appears to be effortless and relaxed, became great through practice and repetition.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s popular book, “Outliers,” he presents the “10-hour rule” as the reason for success behind Bill Gates’ wealth and business success and the enormous popularity of the Beatles. He theorizes that these two entities had approximately 10,000 hours of exposure to their craft, which is what made them become so legendary.

Practice and experience produces success. Great presentations aren’t improvised. If you want to “wow” an audience, you have to put in the work.

Rehearse your presentation until it’s ingrained in your memory–to the point of monotony. Orchestrate your talking points with your visual aid.

Check out ‘The King’s Speech’ if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s a captivating film where you can find lessons ingrained within the challenges overcome by this tongue-tied monarch.