Many businesses say that the most successful pitches are less about what is said and more about how the presenter says it. Whatever the view, there is no doubt that a pitch has to be delivered in a way that instils confidence in both the person presenting and the person on the receiving end. Unfortunately, in today’s technologically advanced world one of the biggest failures during delivering pitches is often down to the technology rather than human error.
Sharing and succeeding
The key part of any visual element of a pitch is to share the information from multiple devices in a simple and straightforward way. We’ve all witnessed those cringe worthy moments where the chairperson of a meeting has to fiddle around with several wires and passing around cables in an attempt to retrieve and share their pitch on a main screen. During a pitch the idea and vision has to be communicated clearly and with clarity, and the first pitfall may come if the information on a laptop or smart device cannot be shared easily. Technology alone is clearly not enough, users also need it to be fail-safe and in practice this would mean streamlining the sharing process and connecting different types of devices to a shared screen.
Smart connections
The most common technology used in pitches is the laptop and this would normally be plugged into the meeting room using cables and connectors. The computer’s settings must then be configured and often the result is a less than perfect representation of the content due to distortion, incorrect screen settings or resolution. Any minor issues would involve calling on the services of IT staff and, in worse case scenarios, could involve delaying the pitch, wasting precious time and creating a very negative impression on the person or people being pitched to.
In addition to this, to support the pitch presentation, there may be a requirement to bring in information held on smart devices. The challenge in connecting a wide variety of smart devices lies in the fact that they are likely to run on different operating systems, such as Android, Windows or iOS, which requires even higher levels of tech support to make them more feasible.
Untangling the wires
One emerging trend that provides a solution to bring all of the devices together is wireless collaboration technologies. As these systems do not use wires, a pitch or presentation can be started by simply pushing a button – either from a USB-device connected to a laptop PC or MAC, or an app for iPhone, i-Pad or Android. The whole process is made easy as a single click enables the presenter to share the content of the laptop, tablet of smartphone on the large screen with all of the participants that are present. These solutions significantly save time during the set up and greatly improve the potential for collaboration during a pitch.
Wonderful Collaboration
The UK based strategic, integrated marketing agency, Wonderful Creative Agency
has years of experience working with big brands, and prides itself on using cutting edge technology, including its own CMS, text-marketing and email marketing systems. The company’s latest piece of technology, installed in its boardroom, is the Barco ClickShare wireless presentation and collaboration system which enables the agency to share content internally within the team, and externally for potential business prospects.
Dan Maudhub, managing director, Wonderful Creative Agency Ltd, says: “The ClickShare system has proven extremely useful, creating an avenue for us to professionally present to new and existing clients. The system has been widely adopted internally and is used for everything from brainstorming sessions to pitches. Our meetings are now much more dynamic and interactive, and the ability to display content from several users at once has made a real difference at the agency.”
Adopting the right supportive technology that a presenter can rely on and use with ease will allow them to focus on the content and the main task at hand. We may not be able to predict the outcome of a pitch, however with the latest technology we can ensure a slick operation, better collaboration and leave a lasting impression on the participants.
