I retired from personal blogging in July 2008.
But you can find me over at http://blog.xero.com.
I shouldn’t have to write this but I’ve had so many approaches in the last few months and many simply fall at the first hurdle.
What you present should be attractive. Stunning. Gorgeous. You get no extra points for it. It is the baseline. If it is less than stunning you’re in the negatives.
This is 101 stuff but the quality of much of the introductory material I see is just awful. It signals a number of things including that you have not yet worked out how ‘out of proportion’ important presentation is. Therefore you are inexperienced.
In contrast, when you see something that is really slick you immediately …
- are drawn to it
- are starting to build confidence in the team presenting it
- assume that everything else they do is slick
- believe they understand customer relationships, etc, etc
Making your material attractive, clear and on message is something that can be done relatively inexpensively - often by friends and family. If you have to pay then it is money well spent. Before you do a transaction you want to build in as much value as possible. A slick presentation is huge bang for your buck. Its like baking before an open home.
Therefore if you haven’t done it you are at a significant disadvantage.
Here are a few (very basic) tips.
- Never (ever, ever, ever) send a Word document. Always convert to a PDF. PDF is so much more professional. (also make sure you always check there is nothing in Track Changes or Document Properties).
- Never (well almost never) send a PowerPoint file. Always convert to a PDF.
- If you are sending sophisticated files (like an avi) make sure there is no special codecs required. You only get one shot.
- Keep files as small as possible. Nothing worse than files not going through a firewall, forcing a big GPRS bill or blowing mail quota. Keep attachments preferably under a MB (and put the size in the subject line). If more than a few MB then send a link they can download from. (Showing that you are thinking about the user is a great subconcious message to send).
- Check (and recheck) spelling. (I’ve sent some shockers using GMail recently).
- Every communication opportunity is an opportunity to reinforce your brand - either positively or negatively.
- People don’t read the entire message or document. Get your key messages in early.
- If calling someone, ask - are you free to speak.
- If you are doing diagrams, make sure they are a consistent style. A mish mash of artwork just looks cheap.
- Always think about the other person you’re communicating with. What do they want? How do you make their day better?
Simple, simple stuff but you just gotta do it.
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Great post. A lot of this advice can also carry into your day to day working life. Stand out from the crowd and make the effort to go that extra mile. Hands up how many people out there are bored senseless with mind numbing Powerpoint presentations that more resemble the Encyclopedia Britannica? Thought so. A good post here on avoiding “Death By Powerpoint”
Shared these sage words with the work team and had great feedback. Always worthwhile reinforcing this stuff. We change the style to suit the audience and are willing to invest in graphics development where needed. Yep, superficial, but can all add to the overall look and feel and thats important.
This post should be compulsory reading for anyone who genuinely wants to get ahead in business!