There are a lot of things you need to do when you’re preparing for a business proposal or presentations. You need to look good, so getting down to the local store for a new suit or outfit is a must. Making sure your hair looks the part is important, so new hairspray is on the cards. Healthy and nutritious meals in the buildup to giving your presentation are very useful, as they’ll give you the necessary energy to pull through in your board meeting or pitch. The list goes on and ticking as many of these boxes as you can is pivotal to your success.
Of course, your actual presentation needs to be on point as well. There’s no point in turning up looking, smelling and feeling the part if you don’t have the presentation to match it. It’ll derail your entire plan, and will make you look like an amateur. So it’s probably best to stick to the tried and trusted PowerPoint, isn’t it? Wrong.
PowerPoint is old news. In fact, it laughed at all around the business world nowadays. It’s looked down on as nothing more than a fun tool for school kids to use for performing their solo talks, with its fun little transitions and Word Art font styles. This program hasn’t moved with the times, and no matter how many people you hear about using it we warn you not to fall into this trap- your chances of being successful in your meeting will instantly half (if not more).
There are other programs out there which are better. But what are these? Well, we think there’s only one that’s really worth knowing about, and that’s McKinsey-style presentations. These modern styled presentations have provided a platform for all new entrepreneurs, and you should definitely give them a look. But why is this? What makes them so good, and more importantly what distinguishes them from the ill-fated PowerPoint presentations? Don’t worry, we’re here to explain it all. Here’s everything you need to know about McKinsey-style presentations and why they should be using them instead of PowerPoint.
So why is PowerPoint now being looked down upon so badly? It’s still very popular, isn’t it? To tell you the truth, it’s popularity hasn’t really wavered at all. What has actually diminished is its reputation in the business world- it’s really laughed at by big businesses and their owners, and that’s who you are trying to impress.
We have to give the program credit- it really was revolutionary when it was first introduced and it took the technological world by storm. Its cool effects and ability to provide brief notes for presentations were unheard of, and it was rightly lauded. However, the sad fact is that the program and its designers haven’t moved with the times. It’s now a little more than a fun program for children to play with, and there are presentation builders out there that are a lot more sophisticated and capable of building a high-quality show for you to perform.
That’s where McKinsey-style presentations come into the equation. You can check out a McKinsey presentation handbook by following this link.
These styles of making presentations are definitely up there with the very best, and you definitely need to consider making them. First of all, these kinds of presentations put a lot of emphasis on your writing skills, which is something not a lot of other presentation styles do. This is a very underrated part of a presentation which a lot of people overlook for a number of reasons. First of all, if your writing skills are good then your sophistication will shine through a lot better. You will look like a much more reputable client; someone who has spent a lot of time on their presentation and has the potential to be put in charge of much bigger projects.
You will look much better than candidates who show up and have a presentation littered with spelling and grammatical errors, and which has very unevenly sized paragraphs and a general poor sense of writing. If you work on your writing skills, which the McKinley-style presentations allow you to do, you’ll have a much greater chance of being successful.
They also accept that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all method for choosing a presentation design. With a poor PowerPoint presentation, the majority of the designs look too similar and don’t have a very sophisticated look to them. If you’re attending a really high profile meeting or pitch, you’ll need to have a presentation that looks the part, and that’s what McKinsey-style presentations offer.
There are a lot of different design options out there, and the handbook these guys provide will help you decide which is the best for you. It’s all about defining what mood and themes your presentation requires and adapting it to suit this. It’ll take a bit of time to get all of this stage right, but if you work hard at it it’ll really benefit your presentation’s aesthetic look and will give you a better chance of being successful.
This style of presenting also focuses on the oof keeping your audience hanging on every word. There will be no useless slides to make up numbers, and every word that you use will matter. This will keep your listener’s ears peeled at all times and will allow you to showcase your presenting abilities. No one wants to sit through a long and dull presentation; it’s all about getting the point quickly and concisely. This will allow you to communicate your intended message without boring anyone and will allow you to leave the building having made a good impression.
The people behind the McKinley-style presentation will also help you with the actual process of giving your presentation. This is often a hurdle even for the most academic of entrepreneurs- they can build up a flawless presentation but are too scared to actually perform it. Ensuring that you can show off your communication skills off a screen and in-person will boost your chances of being successful and will benefit you in the long run too, so make sure you check out everything their team has to say about it.