Visual swagger and dynamism are highly prized in presentations. However, is your presentation possibly too impersonal?

In this article we’re going to talk through the value of having your presentation be ‘human’ and to orient to the reader. Striking this balance between elevated and yet relatable will inevitably take your presentation from pointed but distant, to being the topic of memory and ongoing conversation.

Framing Elitism, Planting Elevation

With increasingly dynamic ads cropping up around us from Apple, Nike, and Airbnb, it’s no surprise that we have a certain visual standard in mind. And if your business has sales and marketing as even part of the business strategy (see: all businesses), then meeting this design standard is crucial. However, in a world of unknown commodities, cold outreach, and challenged attention, there is sometimes unspoken pressure to convey optics of perfection and elevation. The result? An impressive visual and detail display; however, lack of connection to the audience and their current mindset.

PSA, Your Audience Is Human

Lost in the hustle of everyday is the fact that partners are human, investors are more than just money, and executives are not robots. If you’re very analytical by nature, you may not love to hear this. As scientific and consistent as you may want decision criteria to be, human factor is still a part and is likely here to stay.

The result?

A need to woo your audience (beyond with just dollars and cents, though those are nice too).

Your goal should be to ultimately transport your audience to a place of empathy, where they can feel and understand your target market’s pain. Maybe because they or a family member have the same pain or simply because you just did a good job describing the pain and experience.

The Recommendation: The Customer Orientation

Your natural inclination with your presentation is to treat the audience just as they are:

• Treat prospects like potential strategic partners
• Treat investors as investors
• Treat executives as formal bosses

And yes you absolutely be sure to treat them as such.

However, breaking out a thoughtful business plan is only going to get you into rational mindset with your audience.

And what’s the problem with this?

Your audience needs to invest their time, their energy, their concern to back your idea. And more importantly, your customers are also going to need marketing to convince them to do the same.

To bridge this gap: Treat your audience like a customer. Help them understand the pain. Help them understand the use cases. Help them understand the cruciality of the solution. Earn evangelists with a business case that ALSO makes complete sense.

Conclusion

While it sounds obvious, remember that your audience is human can be the key to conversion for your presentation. Doing so can not only increase your chances of having a partner, but can also win you a strategic evangelist. And the additional benefit to this? Your potential partners will understand you that much better and may have your business *that much more* top of mind for when an opportunity arises.

Capture their minds and their hearts.

Good luck, we can’t wait to hear about your continued success.