2. Selling your idea
Created in partnership with Chip and Dan
Heath, authors of the bestselling book Made
To Stick, this template advises users on how to
build and deliver a memorable presentation of
a new product, service, or idea.
3. 1. Intro
Choose one approach to grab the
audience’s attention right from the start:
unexpected, emotional, or simple.
➔ Unexpected
Highlight what’s new, unusual, or
surprising.
➔ Emotional
Give people a reason to care.
➔ Simple
Provide a simple unifying message for
what is to come
4. How many languages do
you need to know to
communicate with
the rest of the world?
Tip
In this example, we’re
leading off with
something
unexpected.
While the audience is
trying to come up with
a number, we’ll surprise
them with the next
slide.
5. Just one! Your own.
(With a little help from your smart phone)
Tip
Remember. If
something sounds like
common sense, people
will ignore it.
Highlight what is
unexpected about
your topic.
6. The Google Translate app
can repeat anything you
say in up to NINETY
LANGUAGES from
German and Japanese to
Czech and Zulu
Tip
Don’t wait till the end of
the presentation to give
the bottom line.
Reveal your product or
idea (in this case a
translation app) up
front.
7. 2. Examples
By the end of this section, your audience
should be able to visualize:
➔ What
What is the pain you cure with your
solution?
➔ Who
Show them a specific person who
would benefit from your solution.
8. Meet Alberto.
He recently moved from Spain to a
small town in Northern Ireland.
He loved soccer, but feared he had
no way to talk to a coach or
teammates.
Tip
Tell the audience about
the problem through a
story, ideally a person.
9. Meet Marcos.
He recently opened a camera shop
near the Louvre in Paris.
Visitors to his store, mostly tourists,
speak many different languages
making anything beyond a simple
transaction a challenge.
Tip
If one example isn’t
sufficient to help people
understand the breadth
of your idea, pick a
couple of examples.
Story for illustration purposes only
10. A translation
barrier left Alberto
feeling lonely and
hurt Marco’s
business.
Tip
Ideally, speak of people
in very different
situations, but where
each could benefit from
your solution.
11. Then, Marcos
discovered Google
Translate
He has his visiting customers speak
their camera issues into the app.
He’s able to give them a friendly,
personalized experience by
understanding exactly what they
need.
12. A simple gesture
Coaches Gary and Glen knew no
Spanish.
They used Google Translate to
invite Alberto to join in... “Do you
want to play?”... “Can you defend
the left side?”
Tip
Show how your solution
helps the person in
the story reach his or
her goals.
13. From outsider to star
Alberto scored 30 goals in 21 games. He is now
being scouted by several professional clubs in
the Premier League. And he’s a favorite of the
other boys on the team.
See a short video on Alberto’s story
Tip
Stories become more
credible when they use
concrete details such as
the specific complex
moves Alberto learned
through Translate and
his 30 goals in 21
games performance
stats.
14. 3. Examples
People need to understand how rare or
frequent your examples are.
Pick 1 or 2 statistics and make them as
concrete as possible. Stats are generally not
sticky, but here are a few tactics:
➔ Relate
Deliver data within the context of a
story you’ve already told
➔ Compare
Make big numbers digestible by
putting them in the context of
something familiar
15. It’s no surprise Marcos uses Google
Translate in his shop regularly.
There are 23
officially
recognized
languages in the
Source: theguardian.com
Tip
Don’t let data stand
alone. Always relate it
back to a story you’ve
already told, in this
case, Marco’s shop.
16. More than 50 million Americans
travelled abroad in 2015
THAT’S MORE THAN THE
POPULATION
OF
CALIFORNIA
AND
TEXAS COMBINED
Tip
When a number is too
large or too small to
easily comprehend,
clarify it with a
comparison to
something familiar.
Source: travel.trade.gov
17. 4. Closing
Build confidence around your product or
idea by including at least one of the these
slides:
➔ Milestones
What has been accomplished and
what might be left to tackle?
➔ Testimonials
Who supports your idea (or doesn’t)?
➔ What’s next?
How can the audience get involved or
find out more?
18. Milestones
2014 2015
October 2014
Translate web pages with
Chrome extension
August 2015
Translate conversations
through your Android
watch
October 2015
Translate text within an
app
November 2015
Translate written text
from English or German
to Arabic with the click of
a camera
19. What people are saying
Translate has
officially inspired
me to learn
French
Abby Author, NYC
With this app,
I’m confident to
plan a trip to
rural Vietnam
Wendy Writer, CA
Visual
translation feels
like magic
Ronny Reader, NYC
Quotes for illustration purposes only
20. Know a 2nd language?
Make Google Translate
even better by joining
the community.
Tip
Inspire your audience to
act on the information
they just learned.
Depending on your
idea, this can be
anything from
downloading
an app to joining
an organization.
21. Good luck!
We hope you’ll use these tips to go out and
deliver a memorable pitch for your product
or service!
For more (free) presentation tips relevant to
other types of messages, go to
heathbrothers.com/presentations
For more about making
your ideas stick with
others, check out our
book!
