Here’s what you do. Usually in real life you’ve only got 15 minutes to pitch. Make sure you’ve got the 15 minute oral pitch down pat.
Big hint: do **NOT ** read your slides
Second hint: Do **NOT ** read your slides
Third hint: Do **NOT ** read your slides
Garhhh, this is the kiss of death in a presentation. Remember, you are presenting to people presumeably smarter than you (or at least let them think that is true), and they know how to read. Think of your pitch as presenting the oral piece combined with the powerpoint piece. Summarize with the oral part and have a lot of the detail on the slide, but don’t talk to it unless there is interest or specific questions.
Then, make sure that while your presentation is 15 minutes long, that your appendix is about 2 hours long. In a 15 minute pitch, all of your slides should be summaries with 1-2 real points per slide. Then if you get a question, curve ball, request for detail, you then fast forward to appendix D: the financials, with all of your carefully prepared backing documents. Presumeably, when you make your business plan, you’ve got all this information and detail. Park it here in the appendix for if you need it.
Make sure if your low cost is a selling point, that you’ve got the return side worked out as well. Pitch it as a good viable business with real returns based on blah blah blah, and to make it even better the cost base is low. Don’t sell it as low cost. Sell it as a good business return, and one reason is because of the low cost.
Run a math checker and spell checker. You have no idea how many executives in a presentation will completely rat hole on a simple math mistake, and you will lose all credibility. There’s still an old guard out there that thinks if you’re too lazy to run a spell checker, you’re not to be trusted with money.
Final hint: if the presentation gets off on the wrong foot, they ask you all sorts of surprising curve balls, and you’re digging yourself deeply into a quicksand quagmire – call a time out. Respectfully request the audience for an opportunity to go do additional homework and later make a second presentation. You’ve got a good business case but this is your first time doing something like this, and the experience so far in the presentation is invaluable. You know you’ve got a good case but didn’t present it in the way to reach the current audience.