Powerful Powerpoint

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The most powerful, formal sales presentations are those where it all comes together. The presenter’s style, content, flow and supporting materials all just work. You don’t see an over-reliance upon one of the four.

Too many salespeople in formal presentations think charisma, techno-savvy and/or compelling logic will save their day. They’re wrong. When you win sales with long, text-heavy Powerpoint presentations, you win despite them, not because of them. In fact, Powerpoint can often be completely abandoned.

Now, since we’re talking about Powerpoint, if you must use it, learn the “Lessig Method.” Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig has gained a following for his entertaining presentations on a variety of topics. His style has been called a combination of content, art and brand. Three tools every sales professional should be working to master.

His Powerpoint presentations have gained him acclaim because his slides zero in on a singular message or concept, which he then explains verbally. Sometimes the slides contain only a sentence fragment; sometimes they’re only a word or number or image. The point is the attention is on him, not the screen behind him.

Great information on his style can be found here and here. Sample presentations can be found here (by Lessig himself) and here.