The Momentum Killers

You may have the best presentation, great ideas, thoroughly rehearsed, wonderful chemistry – you can’t lose. But you do.

You may well have encountered a Momentum Killer -- when you’re the obvious choice, but don’t win.

There are quite a few of these, so we’ll talk about just one here: Educating vs Closing. You cannot do both at the same time.

In preparation for your big presentation, it is a good idea to lay out your thinking on slides, so the logic is sound and your story tracks. But unless the end goal is to EDUCATE your audience, do it sparingly. Edit those slides down to THE SINGLE building block that it is, in the overall arc of your pitch.

Over-educating is boring (then the clock runs out).

Over-selling is confrontation (when your audience doesn’t have the info it needs to decide).

It’s a balance – and if you realize that you are over-educating or over-selling, adjust in the moment! Summarize, ask for questions to get the audience engaged again, and be ready to jump to the end (or to the appendix) to regain your momentum.

Leave your own experiences or questions below. Or get in touch for a workshop or rehearsal. Thank you