Back in the day, when you sat across the table from a client, you were able to easily control the room, read the client, and manage your team. YOU were the message. The pitch book merely supported you and your story. You could vary how you used your pitch book and how often you referred to it.
In today’s virtual world, it is all about what is on the screen in front of the client. More often than not, the pages from your pitch book take up 80% of the screen.
You do not dominate the space in a virtual meeting, your pitch book does. You went from being life-size and physically controlling your environment to being a 2-inch square in the corner of the client’s screen. You have lost the ability to use your physical presence to your advantage.
It's been proven, scientifically, that it is easier for people to read than to listen. Listening requires your client to interpret and understand what you are saying at the speed you are talking. This means they must intently listen because they cannot hit the rewind button to get a second chance.
In contrast, when they are reading, they get to go at their own speed and can re-read the words on your slides as many times as they want. Reading is easier, so it will be what you clients default to. Since people cannot read and listen simultaneously, when they are reading, they are not listening to you.
You do not want your client trapped in your slide reading a lot of words and wandering around the page trying to figure out what it all means. When this happens, your slides no longer support you, they compete with you in telling your story. Your goal is to get your client to listen to you. After all, YOU are why they are on the call.
Less is more! Include the least amount of information you need to tell your story — nothing more! And each slide should make only one key point that supports your bigger story.
Apply simple animation to each slide that brings in one chunk of information at a time. Building your slide makes it easy for you to guide your client through the details without them getting trapped in your slide.
Tell them (briefly!) what they are looking at BEFORE diving into the details of the slide.
Example of how this might sound:
“The key point of this slide is X, and I want to focus on how this can add significant value to you by…”
Once the client knows what they are looking at, they will pull back from reading and are free to relax and follow along with you as you take them through the details.
Clearing a slide may, at first, feel like you are stating the obvious. But remember, while you know your slides inside and out, this is the first time your client is seeing them. They will default to reading unless you pull them back and take them along with you.
These three techniques allow you to take control in a virtual meeting, making it easy for your client to follow along with you. They are free to listen, think, and learn with ease, and let the importance of what you are saying sink in.