It’s tough to present in front of potential investors. Some of them are difficult to please. They already heard several presentations in the past, and they might not feel impressed with what you present. It’s tough being in this position because it’s humiliating. At the same time, you need to stay calm because you’re trying to impress the investor. You don’t want the person you are trying to attract for financial help to walk away and end all your plans. If you’re in this stressful situation, these are the things you need to do.
Acknowledge the suggestion
Before you react, you need to evaluate the suggestion first. If it makes sense, you can say thank you and tell the investor that you might probably include it in your final proposal. Avoid immediate responses without careful consideration since you might be wrong.
Don’t judge the person right away
You might feel like the investor intentionally embarrassed you, but it might be the natural way the person asks questions or presents ideas. Avoid judging the situation before you even know what’s going on. Try to suspend judgement and think about improving your business ideas. If you think that the other party humiliated you, your reaction might be adverse, and something you will instantly regret.
Learn how to assert your ideas without being disrespectful
It doesn’t matter if you feel like the investor is disrespectful to you. It’s crucial for you to remain respectful. You can continue the conversation without raising your voice or hurling personal insults. Focus on the question or suggestion and react appropriately.
Go back to your presentation
It always helps if you talk while having slides. You will have a guide as you present, but you also show information to the people in the room. If you know that you already answered the question asked, you can redirect everyone to the slides.
Show your disinterest
Instead of fighting back, you can keep quiet or say thank you. It shows that you don’t intend to continue the conversation anymore. At this point, you are confident that the investor intentionally humiliated you, and you feel disrespected. Instead of going forward with the conversation, it helps if you stay quiet and do not react at all. However, you need to prepare yourself to end the potential partnership. If you do not like the idea of further collaboration, let go of it. You should only react this way under extreme circumstances.
Always be ready
Investors are finding ways to become wealthier, and others want to help struggling entrepreneurs like you. Not all of them have the same method of responding to pitches. It helps to be ready so that you won’t worry even if you have to face the worst people in the room. You can also consider having an AV media cabinet in the office so that it’s easy to keep the equipment you need for any presentation.
Focus on your goal and don’t let anything stop you from having a successful business.
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