If you have ever listened to a speech by someone who speaks monotonously, you will know that strong vocal delivery is vital to: 1) communicate your message clearly and 2) stop your audience going to sleep. The quickest way to make your startup elevator pitch stand out from the rest is to practise it with a simple technique: The Blind Cat Test.
Read More
3 types of startup friend: How to pick the RIGHT advisor
As any startup founder knows, you need an advisor: to listen when things go wrong, to bounce ideas off and to tell what you need to hear: even when it’s not pleasant. But don’t make the mistake of picking the wrong friend for your startup. Do you recognise these 3 types of startup friend?
Read More
Show your startup: 4 types of demo to make investors see, believe and invest
When you pitch your startup to investors, you need them to understand it. The easiest way to do this is to show them your idea visually: through screenshots, a video, a prototype-as-a-prop or a live demo.
But be warned: although it is the ultimate show of authenticity, the live demo is fraught with danger. Even Steve Jobs was only a falsified phone signal bar away from disaster.
Read More
Run with it: Excite investors with your startup's possibilities
How do you excite an investor with your elevator pitch? It’s not enough to explain to them your startup idea. You need to show them your idea and then run with it: show them could happen with their investment. But be careful: there are two places you can run to with your idea, and only one is a place where the investor will stay excited about your startup.
Read More
Memorise your elevator pitch (without sounding like a droid)
Have you ever changed to the next slide in your elevator pitch, seen two long sentences and been forced to start reading them word-for-word until your brain remembers exactly what you’re trying to say?
Pitch rescue tip: You will remember your pitch, and present it more fluidly, if you memorise only 1-3 key words for each slide.
Read More
Word order - how stand-up comedy will give your presentation more punch
Just like a business presentation or pitch, crafting good stand-up comedy requires precision. This blog post will show you how playing with the word order in your presentation can give you a powerful tool to maximise both humour and emphasis.
Read More
Out of place? - the world does not revolve around you
Have you ever walked into a room full of strangers, be it a networking event or a cocktail party, and felt absolutely out of place? That everyone else was aware of your grindingly inappropriate presence, and was judging you for it? We all have, and this blog post will explain why you were probably wrong.
Read More
Ending on a high - leave them wanting more
Have you ever watched someone give a presentation and been fascinated by it for the first six minutes, but then lost interest over time? We often think the more content we give our audience, the more satisfied they will be, but the opposite is generally true. Ending early, and on a high, will leave your audience wanting more.
Read More
Squeaky parrots - why we need to pause more
How often, in a conversation of more than two people, have you felt you had to jump in as quickly as possible to make yourself heard? In this post I'm going to show you why a squeaky novelty parrot is what you need to get more out of every single group discussion from now on.
If you read last week’s post on smiling, you’ll know that after a recent move to Madrid I have found my Spanish is, while sufficient for general conversation, hindering my ability to connect with people on the same level as I can in English. This has recently proved to be particularly true in group conversations, and in a way that has made me realise how often I have unintentionally made it hard for other people to contribute.
Read More