The Ultimate Sales Pitch: Tips For A Stellar Presentation

Finalize The Pitch

Before presenting the project before a class, always practice numerous times to make sure that the presentation is smooth. Have other classmates or at least group mates ask questions in order to make sure that everyone is on the ball.

Time yourself. Some professors will think nothing of cutting you off at the precise time limit. Since conclusions are very important to make your case, make sure that you are well within the time restriction.

Understand Your Audience

Unlike professional meetings and industry conferences, class audiences often have a limited knowledge base of your topic. So do not get too smart and lose your listeners.

Content Is King!

What Is The Big Idea?

Every presentation should have a Big Idea. Everyone presenting should have it serve as the guiding light in the back of their mind. Every point that is discussed should unequivocally emphasize and reinforce this one principle.

Frame The Message

Do not beat around the bush. Once you have a big idea, you should ensure that the rhetoric does not fly all over the place. James Carville, the popular political advisor emphasized in his book that rhetoric was a main reason why Ronald Reagan won in 1980. He closed his debate by asking Americans whether they were in a better position in 1980 than in 1976, the year that Jimmy Carter took office. Americans felt that they were not. He framed his message masterfully and served two terms as one of the most popular leaders in American history.

Give Industry Examples

Another way to frame the message and hit the nail on the head is to offer industry examples and relate to previous references in lectures.

Set A Tone

If there is one thing that makes for bad presentations, it is when the desired tone is lost on the audience. Are you trying to be informative, funny, assertive or controversial?

Whatever you try to do, it should be clear in the tone of the pitch. Imagine you are going up there and questioning a fundamental theory in business: would you go about it the same way as presenting an ad campaign strategy? Of course not.

The Mechanics

Make The Person That Is Most Nervous Go First - Sometimes.

This could be a risky maneuver but it beats having the nervous student sit idle as the group members speak one by one. The better the performance the higher the stakes. The higher the stakes, the more nervous they will be. Besides, introducing a topic is far easier than driving home the main points or concluding a pitch. However, if you need a solid intro, then make the nervous person go second.

Being The First Group To Present?

Being the first group to present is the way to go when you are confident about everything and are about to do something that no one else has. This is the perfect way to set the bar so high that all following groups will offer seemingly diluted presentations with obvious conclusions. Having to follow up great presentations also throws the other groups off. Sure this is slightly Machiavellian, but so is business. Get used to it. The other reason to go first is when all projects more or less cover the same topic. You can avoid anyone accusing you of stealing ideas by going first. The flip side to going first is that others will have more time to prepare and can even get inspiration from your work. Usually, professors are well aware of this and grades and feedback take this into consideration.

Being the last to present means you have had more time to prepare and have been able to gather notes from the feedback that the first groups have gotten. Whether or not this is implied, it means that you must deliver a finished product that is almost twice as better as anyone else's. It also means that your findings will have to be deeper. Similarly to presenting first, the great thing about this is that if you have something up your sleeve, no one else can copy you thereafter since you are the last to go. The flip side is that someone may voluntarily or involuntarily steal your thunder if they pull the same stunt before you do.

What this question comes down to is your level of confidence and how well you will have prepared.