Don't Bore Your Audience to Death

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Guy Kawasaki, a former Inc.com mentor and long-time venture capitalist, discusses a malady he suffers from, called Meniere's disease, in his Dec. 30 blog. It's not a medical post, though. Kawasaki uses his disease to make a point about the pitches he hears from hundreds of entrepreneurs, and speculates that his suffering through the many presentations he describes as "crap" could actually be the cause for his illness, instead of the medically documented causes, including too much salt or caffeine in one's diet.

He goes on to lament the 60-slide presentations he often sits through and offers his 'magic numbers' to creating the perfect presentation: 10/20/30. In a nutshell, entrepreneurs should use no more than 10 slides per presentation; keep the presentation to no more than 20 minutes in length; and use no less than a 30-point font for the slides. The blog further discusses his reasoning for the 10/20/30 rule and goes into what topics VCs' care about. All in all, it's a good, quick read on creating a presentation that won't bore your audience to death.