1. Effective Corporate
Presentations
Matt M Pérez
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2. Agenda
Purpose of slides
What not to do
What/How to do it
Presenter
Content
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2 © Nearsoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Slides Are …
A sales tool
High-level
Visual
Brand
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3 © Nearsoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Slides Are Not …
Text document
Full sentences
Standalone
Primary focus
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5. What Not to Do
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6. Common Sins
Too many slides
Super busy, verbose slides
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7. Verbose
(example)
XYZ, Inc is a leading Panamanian enterprise in the
area of software development and consulting. Our
services are aimed at providing integrated solutions
to organizations looking to improve their ROI in IT
We provide organizations with IT systems that meet
the highest standards
We do this in an aggressive time frame and at a
competitive cost
We are committed to the improvement of ROI.
Continuous improvement is a fundamental part of our
vision, in the way we do business, our values and our
development processes.
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8. You Say, They Hear
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9. More Sins
Useless diagrams
Hard to understand
Too small to read
Counter-productive images
Meaningless
Ugly
Low quality
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12. Yet More Sins
Layout
Distracting
Inconsistent
Ugly
Inconsistency
Fonts, colors, bullets
Text case
Ending periods
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12 © Nearsoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. A Very, very Long, meaningless Title
obscured by the background
(Counter-example)
Our vision is clear and we
see far and away and what
we can’t see we can imagine
very clearly.
Our product is the best in the world
our people are the best in the world
our company is the best in the world
Where the magic begins…

14. And Even More Sins
Content
Typos & Bad grammar
Too many buzz words
Grandiose claims
No numbers, names
Boring, not memorable
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14 © Nearsoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

15. Important Sales Tool
Every slide must sell something
Product
Service
Presentation must sell the company
Communicate value
Create trust
Move closer to sale!
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16. Important Brand Element
Projects an image
Professional or not
Sloppy or well crafted
Light or serious
Impacts your brand
For good or bad
Reinforce or dilute
Helps make/break sale
Value? Trust?
Obstacles?
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17. Confusing Look
(example)
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18. Branded Look
(example)
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19. Slides Don’t Stand Alone
Don’t email to customers
Brochure
Whitepaper
Letter
Don’t post on website
Flash
ScreenCam
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20. What to Do?
Keep it short
Be consistent
Make it interesting
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21. How to Do It?
The 3-5 rule
Pyramid style
Refactoring
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22. The 3-5 Rule
3-5 slides
3-5 bullets
3-5 words
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23. Presentation Structure
Topic
Title slide
Customer name
Presenter’s name
Date
Copyright, pub restrictions
3-5 content
Slide number
slides
Contact information
Last slide
(Tag line)
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24. 3-5 Content Slides
1. Value proposition
2. Targeted solution
3. Competitive advantage
4. Customers (evidence)
5. Company background
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25. Slide Structure
Short, catchy title
Content (3-5)
Takeaway
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26. Pyramid Style
Critical messages up front
Secondary claims, evidence
Details
Features
Contract terms
“How it works”
Architecture
etc.
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27. Pyramid Style
Critical Messages
•Secondary claims
•More evidence
Details:
• Features
• Contract Terms
• “How it works”
• Architecture
• etc.
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28. Pyramid Style
Critical Messages
•Secondary claims
•More evidence
Details:
• Features
• Contract Terms
• “How it works”
• Architecture
• etc.
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29. Pyramid Style
Critical Messages
•Secondary claims
•More evidence
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30. Pyramid Style
Critical Messages
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31. Pyramid Style
Critical Messages
•Secondary claims
•More evidence
Details:
• Features
• Contract Terms
• “How it works”
• Architecture
• etc.
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32. Refactoring
“ The process of rewriting
material to improve its
readability or structure
Wikipedia
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33. Refactoring
Split long bullets
Short bullets
Key words
Split slides
Too many bullets
Multiple levels
One topic per slide
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34. Wall of Words
(example)
XYZ, Inc is a provider of high tech test, measurement and inspection
solutions for the Automotive and Electronics industry.
For over 7 years XYZ has been assisting Fortune 500 companies in the
design, development, manufacturing and complete integration of
systems that fulfill their test, measurement and inspection needs and
contribute to the production, quality control, research and development
of their products.
XYZ’s unique differentiator is our ability to act as a single-source for
design, machining, software, electrical, mechanical and installation.
Unlike our competitors XYZ’s complete integration process benefits our
customers by providing comprehensive project management, improved
quality control and shorter project lead and deployment times.
Some of our customers include Flextronics, Visteon, SiemensVDO,
Texas Instruments, Continental and General Motors. XYZ’s has
successfully provided solutions for: Semiconductors dimension
inspection, Testing airbags electronics crash modules, Laptop
assembly inspection, and ABS wheel speed sensors.
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36 © Nearsoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

35. Wall of Words
(example)
XYZ, Inc is a provider of high tech test, measurement and inspection
solutions for the Automotive and Electronics industry.
For over 7 years XYZ has been assisting Fortune 500 companies in the
design, development, manufacturing and complete integration of
systems that fulfill their test, measurement and inspection needs and
contribute to the production, quality control, research and development
of their products.
XYZ’s unique differentiator is our ability to act as a single-source for
design, machining, software, electrical, mechanical and installation.
Unlike our competitors XYZ’s complete integration process benefits our
customers by providing comprehensive project management, improved
quality control and shorter project lead and deployment times.
Some of our customers include Flextronics, Visteon, SiemensVDO,
Texas Instruments, Continental and General Motors. XYZ’s has
successfully provided solutions for: Semiconductors dimension
inspection, Testing airbags electronics crash modules, Laptop
assembly inspection, and ABS wheel speed sensors.
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37 © Nearsoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

36. Summarize
What we do
Test, measurement, inspection solutions
Automotive and Electronics industries
Features
Single-source design, development, manufacturing
In-house machine shop
Integrated process
Benefits
Lower cost
On-time delivery
Improved quality control
Customers
Fortune 500
Flextronics, Visteon, Siemens VDO, Texas Instruments,
Continental, General Motors and many others
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37. Refactor
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38. Be Consistent
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39. Consistent Layout
Background
Slides, handouts, notes
Use “Title” and “Slide” masters
Corporate brand look
2-3 colors throughout
Lots of whitespace
Avoid slide transitions
Random transitions
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40. Consistent Bullets
Leverage your brand
Limit indentations
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41. Consistent Bullets
Leverage your brand
Limit indentations
Default sucks
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42. Default Bullet Scheme
(example)
•
–
•
–
»

43. Default Bullet Scheme
(example)
• Bullet
– Negative sign!?
• Bullet
– 10x better than competition
» “Much Greater Than” sign!?

44. Improved Bullet Scheme
(example)
• Bullet
• Bullet
• Bullet
• Bullet
• Bullet

45. Improved Bullet Scheme
(example)
• Bullet
• Bullet

46. Branded Bullet Scheme
(example)
Point
Sub-point
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47. Indentations
Bullets
Two levels max
Refactor
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48. Consistent Text
Font family, style, size
Font colors
Text case
Use of periods
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49. Text Case
Sentence case
First word capitalized
Title Case
All Words Capitalized
Not Prepositions or Articles
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50. Use of Periods
Use periods at the end of bullets.
Don’t use periods at the end of bullets
Pick one style, stick to it!
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51. Graphs, Tables & Diagrams
Understandable
Graphs
Label axes
Unit of measure
Tables
Label columns, rows
Diagrams
Label boxes
Limited animation
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52. Consistent Images
High-quality
Framed
Elegant
Consistent style, size
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53. Sloppy-Looking
Image
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54. High-Quality
Image
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55. Borderless
Image
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56. Framed
Image
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57. Diagrams Using AutoShapes
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58. Make It Interesting
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59. Make It …
Entertaining
Mix text, visuals
Tangible
Use numbers, names as “hooks”
Memorable
Success stories
Surprising facts
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60. Use Facts for Credibility
Communicate value, credibility
For every claim, quote a number
“Most cost-effective … ”
“Savings of up to 57% and a 9-month ROI,
unparalleled in the industry … ”
“Satisfied customers … ”
“Ford and Volvo increased the number of
transactions by 27% in the first 12 months
of use, GM… ”
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61. Be Memorable
Tell a story
Drama
Inform
Surprise
Educate
Don’t overstate
Entertain
Stay on message
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62. Surprise, Educate
“ Currently, 451,000 Mexican students
are enrolled in full-time undergraduate
programs, versus just over 370,000 in
the U.S.
Business Week
May, 2006
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63. No Grandiose Claims!
Hit to credibility
“We are the leading outsourcing vendor
in Panama … ”
But you have a staff of 12 engineers?
Narrow the segment
“We are the leading Delphi outsourcing
vendor in Panama”
“80% of our engineers are Java certified”
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64. Presenter
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65. About You
Stay in control
Dress appropriately
Stand right
Don’t rush, drag
Be memorable
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66. Staying in Control
Keep mechanics
Neutral
Out of the way
Engage audience
Use space
Walk into audience
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67. Dress Appropriately
Keep attention on message
Not your clothing
Business casual
Casual elegance
Tucked in shirt
Solid or subtle pattern
Keep chest hair inside shirt
Subtle jewelry
Loose clothing
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68. Where You Stand Matters
Left of screen
From audience’s point of view
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69. Where You Stand Matters
Left of screen
From audience’s point of view
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70. Big Stage
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71. How You Stand Matters
Open
Back Forward
Closed
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72. Presenter DOs
Speak up, don’t mumble
Open, forward posture
Gesture as appropriate
Match words, body language
Help transition slides
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73. Help Slide Transitions
Look briefly at new slides
Look at audience
Use words in title
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74. Presenter DON’Ts
Block the projector
Turn back to audience
Cross your arms
Lean on the wall
Fidget with cups, etc.
Read slides out loud
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75. Read Quotes
“ Currently, 451,000 Mexican students
are enrolled in full-time undergraduate
programs, versus just over 370,000 in
the U.S.
Business Week
May, 2006
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76. Read Cartoons
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77. Don’t Rush or Drag
Practice, practice, practice
Time your presentation
Skip slides, don’t rush
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78. Content
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79. Presentation Structure
Topic
Title slide
Customer name
Presenter’s name
Date
Copyright, pub restrictions
3-5 content
Slide number
slides
Contact information
Last slide
(Tag line)
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82 © Nearsoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

80. 3-5 Content Slides
1. Value proposition
2. Targeted solution
3. Competitive advantage
4. Customers (evidence)
5. Company background
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81. Value Proposition
Problem that you solve
Client benefits
Unique competitive advantage
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82. Targeted solution
Key factor of your solution
Adapted to each client
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83. Competitive advantage
Unique list of benefits
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84. Customer Evidence
Related success cases
Describe size/kind of client
Problem
Solution
Quantitative benefits
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85. Company Background
Year in business
Number of clients
Awards
Partnerships
Offices
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86. Takeaways
Slides are sales tool
Stay in control
Keep it short
Simplify, refactor
Be consistent
Entertain
But stay on message
Practice, practice, practice
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87. Matt M Pérez
mperez@nearsoft.com
+1.408.691.1034 mobile
http://www.nearsoft.com
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