I'm in Los Angeles this week, (well, Hollywood), at the Asian-American Journalists Association conference. This is project #4 of "The New U" entrepreneurship project and we've developed a strategy and template that can be deployed anywhere. "The New U" is about giving journalists the tools and mindset needed to create a sustainable business. Most of the ideas (generally) have been about local news aggregation but focused on what our fellows believe is missing in local news. It's been an amazing learning experience for the mentors, the mentees and for me.
We've absorbed so much, but the one thing that sticks with me the most is a rule spouted by "angel investors," venture capitalists and others who have moved into business start-ups. They call it 10-20-30. This means, for a formal group presentation you should have 10 slides in 20 minutes in 30 point font. Yes, 30 point font. We've been told that following that ratio is key to maintaining the interest of potential investors in a formal pitch meeting.
I'm going to start using that formula. I'm not launching a business per se, however I am interested in personal branding and presentation is a reflection of your personal brand. I can't tell you how many orations I've sat through where the speaker read from slides I could read myself, or was so programmed to squeeze in every slide, that time restrictions left no room for discussion. At these meetings I was thankful I drink too much coffee.
For my next presentation, I'll start with a simple question and go from there:
"Why are you here?"
*Chantal de la Rionda edits this blog
