Barack Obama’s acceptance speech yesterday at the Democratic National Convention was remarkable in its clarity and delivery. Concrete attacks on John McCain and clear policy statements replaced the at times lofty oratory of some his more recent speeches. Yet it was hard to even look away for the entire duration – that’s how riveting the delivery was. And none of it involved powerpoint slides. The speech managed to be substantive and rousing at once using just words.
This was such a welcome change from the many powerpoint presentations that are part of the everyday VC routine (pitches, board meetings, conferences, …). As I am preparing for two separate presentations at the Web 2.0 Expo, I feel inspired. I doubt I will get away without slides but it is certainly tempting to try. In any case though it will make me focus more on what I am planning to say and how I am planning to say it. My goal is for any slides to be solely supporting.
It is easy to dismiss all of this as merely words (and not action). But as we see time and time again in startups, past the very early days it is not what the founder or CEO can do, because he or she is only one person with a 24 hour day like everyone else, but how they manage and inspire their team. And that comes down to words.
