Entrepreneurship, Second Edition

7.5. Style Pointers for the Written Plan and Oral Presentation

Once you start writing plans for external consumption, the way you present the information becomes important. Not only do you need to capture the reader's attention with a well-researched opportunity, but also you need to present your case in a way that makes it easy and interesting to read. Too many business plans are text-laden, dense manifestos. Only the most diligent reader will wade through all that text. The key is to create visual catch-points.

Use a table of contents with numbered sections, as we described earlier in this chapter. Then use clearly marked headers and subheaders throughout the document. This allows the reader to jump to sections she is most interested in. Another way to draw the reader to important points is to use bulleted lists, diagrams, charts, and sidebars.^[] Your reader should be able to understand the venture opportunity by just looking at the visual catch-points of a plan. Work with your team and trusted advisors on ways to bring out the exciting elements of your story. The point is to make the document not only content rich but also visually attractive.

Some investors have no interest in a plan at all. Instead, they prefer to see an executive summary and PowerPoint slides, and they often read the PowerPoint slides instead of asking the entrepreneur to personally present those slides. We have already discussed executive summaries, so let's spend a few moments on PowerPoint slides. You ...