When you are standing in front of an important group to make your case, you always have less time than what you feel you require. So, it feels right, efficient even, to just dive in and give them your pitch.
That’s a mistake.
The assumption that a group of executives/venture capitalists are in a similar head space and share your context is typically wrong. As you enter and set up, they are busy thinking about the previous presenter, the unattended issues in the business, and their son’s basketball game in the evening among others. They need you to guide them to a place where your presentation begins to makes sense to them. So, take a minute to set the context and explain why you’re standing in front of them.
When you “feel” busy is always when you most need to slow down.
A Learning a Day 