A little about meLIFE:32 years young

1 wife

1 very small daughter

300+ Star Wars collection

STARTUPS:5 founded

2 failed

1 acquired

1 still rocking

1 fundraising

8 programs’ mentor

3 advisor

1000+ Pitches

What I’ve Learned

• Story telling is best• Lowest common denominator• People expect to be somewhat entertained

Objectives

• Reaching your objective• Gain Control of your pitch

Be Yourself, There Are No Rules

Materials Matter

Less Text. The More Text - The More Questions.

Tell it in Your Own Words.

Connect On The Lowest Common Denominator• You are telling a story

Create “Buy In” From Participants• In order for people to buy –

you need to sell

Writing a Story.And Make It Flow.

• We are mostly problems & solutions people here

• Each story has a beginning, middle and an ending

Planning“He who fails to prepare, prepares to fail” –someone

How To Build Personal Value Into Your Presentation

• “War Stories”• Eye level conversation• Know your situation• You can’t solve everything

Paradox:Times Are Irrelevant – But You Have Play

By Them

What You Need To Know About Your Audience

Why The Summary And Conclusion Are So Critical

• Focus• You control• Reception check• Your story has the right flow

Acting vs. Performance

• Acting is almost always noticeable• Acting is not you. That’s bad

How Visual Aids Work

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• Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nam nec ante.

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi.

• Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubianostra. Sed lacinia, urna non tincidunt mattis, tortor neque adipiscing diam, a cursus ipsum ante quis turpis.

What an Audience Remembers

• Your take home message• Repetition (I'm doing it throughout the course)• You• Typos (!)• The more they talk, the more they remember it as

an experience• If you didn’t have the answer more then twice

The Value of Q&A SessionsWhat’s In it For You

• Control • You don’t need to ‘Feel’ them• You get immediate feedback about how

you’re doing• You’re not afraid of questions (or anything

for that matter)

Estimate And Allocate Time Effectively, How To Avoid Time Traps

• Personal sessions• Audience arguments (Good, but contain

and control it)• When you are done with a section – you

are done!• You lose focus, the audience follows you

(vicious cycle)

What Happens When You Don't Know The Answer

• Its ok• Really…• Write it down• If you don’t write it down – you're insulting the person• You have up to 2 questions you cannot know the answer• Remember:

• Once – it’s a mistake• Twice – it’s a coincidence• Thrice – it’s a phenomenon (learn your materials!)

When Asking For Money• Why? Exactly why• Show. Don’t tell• Where the $$$ are going• Startup Stages and buzzwords