When asked to present your business idea in front of potential investors, you have to place your best foot forward. It would help if you impressed them, so they will decide to invest in you. Some of them are hard to please, while others are nicer. Regardless, you might still mess up and lose your chance of winning them over. Worse, you can say something terrible during the presentation. It could be tough to recover once you already said what you shouldn’t. These tips will help you close the deal despite what happened.
Apologise right away
Don’t pretend that the people in the room didn’t hear you. Even if you didn’t say the words out loud, your words still reached them. Say sorry and let them know you didn’t mean what you said. If it’s an error related to your presentation, it’s even more important to correct it right away. You can’t let the investors think you meant one thing if it’s the other way around. It could adversely affect your possibility of getting their vote.
Laugh at the mistake
When you said something incorrectly, and it sounded funny or silly, you can laugh at it. Everyone in the room knows you didn’t mean what you said, and there’s nothing wrong about laughing. You can move on after everyone knew you had a slip of the tongue. It’s also great to show that you have a soft side. It lightens the conversation and makes the investors like your attitude.
Go back to your presentation
It’s easy to get distracted when you made a mistake. However, you can’t let it stop you from moving forward. Continue your presentation after apologising. You will eventually forget what happened and bring the attention back to the content. It’s even better if you have great words to say during the presentation. Even if you said something terrible, everyone will forget it and remember how excellent the presentation was. You should also have a projector mount in your meeting room to become even more conducive for a meeting. You can impress the attendees with how professional the environment is. It’s a plus point if you’re trying to win investors over.
Apologise again after the meeting
If you cursed during the presentation or said a terrible mistake, you can apologise again. It shows that your apologies are sincere. You’re not only doing them because you had to present but because your apologies are personal. Even if these investors already made up their minds, you should still say sorry. Who knows? Your paths will cross again, and you might need their help for future projects. You don’t want to be on their bad side because of one mistake you were too proud to admit.
Be aware of what you say next time, and try to be more cautious. Mistakes are common during question and answer sessions. Pause before you say your response to avoid mentioning the wrong things.