Presenting your ideas to investors in the hope of receiving funding is no walk in the park. Most people feel some sort of fear when public speaking – experts believe that almost 80 percent of people have feelings of anxiety when it comes to speaking to an audience. However, there are several steps you can take to overcome your fear of presenting to investors. By coming to the investor pitch with a compelling presentation, you are far more likely to impress investors. For this reason, you should consider hiring experienced presentation designers to create a high-quality presentation that wins over investors.
Practice Your Pitch
Facing your fear of presenting to investors is tough. But by repeatedly practising your pitch, you’ll increase the likelihood that the presentation goes smoothly. First, practice the pitch by yourself. Get familiar and comfortable with what you’re saying. Then, try to inject your passion for your pitch into your presentation. Once you’ve practised by yourself several times, ask others if they would like to see your presentation. A mock investor presentation will help prepare you for presenting in front of an audience. Once you’ve finished presenting, ask your audience for feedback and incorporate their advice into your presentation.
Pay Attention to Body Language
Body language can be the difference between a dull presentation and a highly engaging one. By adjusting your facial expressions, eye contact, posture, and gestures, you can make an excellent impression on your audience. So let’s delve a little deeper into why the right body language is vital.
Facial expression
First, what you do with your face during your presentation is vital. You need to actively think about the expression you’re pulling during your presentation. Open your eyes slightly wider than you usually would, raise your eyebrows slightly and smile – these small changes to your face will make a huge difference to how engaged your audience is. Throughout your presentation, make sure to check in with the facial expression you are pulling. Over time, you may find your face starts to go back to a more neutral expression.
Eye contact
Vitally, you need to make eye contact with your audience. By the end of your presentation, you should have made eye contact with everyone at least once. Alternatively, if you’re presenting to a slightly larger crowd, you may want to split your audience into sections and make eye contact with each section a couple of times throughout the presentation. Making eye contact with several dozen people during a short presentation might not be possible!
Posture
Next, stand up straight. Your posture sets the tone for your presentation, and slouching will make you appear shy and unsure of yourself. Standing up straight will make you look and feel more confident, which, in turn, will improve the outcome of your presentation as it will be a lot more engaging if you look like you feel confident about your venture.
Hand gestures
Next, make natural hand gestures when speaking. Gestures help to make your message clearer and keep the audience engaged throughout your pitch. However, try not to be too aggressive with your gestures.
Come Equipped With a Compelling Presentation
One of the best ways to reduce the pressure associated with an investor presentation is to come equipped with a compelling, well-designed presentation. An expertly-designed presentation will make you appear more professional and reliable to investors. If you do not have the expertise to create a high-quality presentation yourself, you may want to consider hiring an expert to create one for you. Thankfully, several presentation designers can help you by designing a highly engaging presentation that will impress investors.
Let Your Personality and Passion Shine Through
While you want to be professional, injecting your personality into your presentation does not hurt. In fact, it is highly beneficial. Be yourself. If you try too hard to be someone you’re not, you’ll only make yourself more nervous trying to keep up with the persona you are trying to emulate. Plus, investors want to know whom they are investing their money in, and letting your personality shine through will indicate whether you are the type of individual they would like to work with. If appropriate and relevant, include some humorous stories or anecdotes to add a personal touch to your presentation. A funny story will help the audience connect with you and stay engaged.
Overcoming Your Fear of Investor Presentations
It is completely normal to feel nervous before public speaking. Almost everyone has felt nervous presenting their ideas to an audience, whether it is during a meeting at work or when making a presentation to potential investors. However, by spending the time preparing for your upcoming presentation, you increase the likelihood that you impress investors and receive the funding you need for your venture.
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