You have a fantastic idea and you want to present it to your audience. What is the optimum number of visuals in your presentation deck to make your point? Six. I’m not kidding.
Why six?
When you provide too much detail, you leave little to the imagination. When you can’t tell your story in six slides, you don’t really know your story. With only six slides, you have to be focused and inspirational. A six slide presentation is your elevator speech. You have cut away the fat, and have left only the very best of the best. What is left is the raw essence of your passion–the reason you love the idea and why you need to share it.
Slide 1: SET THE STAGE
“Imagine a world where anybody can buy things by walking into the store, picking out their purchase, and walking out without ever going through a checkout line.” Your first slide sets the stage and stimulates the imagination. It engages and promotes curiosity. If your audience is emotionally invested with their imagination, they’re more interested in listening to the rest of your presentation.
Slide 2: PROVIDE A PATH
“New advances in RFID technology make tagging every item in any store cheap and ubiquitous. By outfitting stores with our sensors and software, checkout lines can be completely eliminated.” Show them that your idea isn’t just a pipe dream, but something that is achievable by taking specific steps. Establish your project as something that can be accomplished.
Slide 3: WARN ABOUT HAZARDS
“The potential for loss due to theft requires customer monitoring, but this can be done by allowing only members to enter and shop at the store, and they are identified through their RFID membership cards.” Answer their doubts and show them you have already considered the potential negatives, and how to handle them. Show that you have seriously considered all risks.
Slide 4: DANGLE THE REWARD
“Not only will customers be delighted, the amount of insight, product interest, and purchasing patterns will be at a level never before achieved.” It’s time to lift them off the ground again, to remind them why your great idea is worth their time and energy. Since they have already considered the hazards, it’s time to look at the tremendous upside.
Slide 5: WHY YOU WILL SUCCEED
“We have the right team of developers, the software has been proven, and all retail products will soon have embedded RFID tags.” Make it clear that it’s not just the idea, but the people behind it that will insure its success. Great ideas are nothing without great execution.
Slide 6: CLOSE THE DEAL
“Our first partner will have the greatest reward. If you sign with us today, you will have exclusive access for two years.” You’ve made your pitch, now close the deal. Give your audience something to commit to.
It takes courage and talent to cut all of that supporting material out of your presentation, but the results are worth your best efforts. You become the focus of your talk. You create a memorable event. Six great slides will capture your audience’s imagination and drive your key points home. And when they recall your presentation, they will remember 6 slides and what they represented.
