Good luck Ben! I went to a Toastmasters club for 2 years to banish my public speaking demons... here are some things I found useful from that experience.
1. Try not to memorise *exactly* (word for word) what you are going to say, but know the subject well enough to speak about it (you know Alfred back to front so I bet this is not an issue).
2. Keep a palm card with some short bullet points on it just in case (even in your pocket). You probably won't need it, but sometimes having it makes you feel better.
3. Rehearse it out loud multiple times in front of someone, or even by yourself. Make sure it's out loud - not just reading the words in your mind - this helps because you have done it before... you can do it again.
On the content itself, the only thing I thought would be good is if you have a short paragraph with a small story about your own struggles up front of the presentation. This communicates your "why" and stories tend to engage the audience.
Hope that helps - and good luck. You've played in front of tens of thousands at a heaving Twickenham, you got this 😀
Heya Ben! Some good feedback here in the comments. You can't go wrong if you speak with confidence and from the heart. I think adding in your personal story is helpful. From my experience on my business social media pages, the posts people engage with the most are the ones that are more personal.
PS: I used Alfred for me emerging technologies assignment :). I love the concept and I did find a study that said that having to prep/weigh/quantify food is what deters people from using calorie tracking aps and that taking a picture or texting what you ate is preferable for the consumer.
I'm not going to wish you luck, because you don't need it. You've done the work, back yourself. :D
Have a strong and memorable final sentence which the audience can easily repeat to others. Linked with an opening story, this completes the problem-solution arc. As the pitch and your stated time commitment for Alfred are both 1 minute, consider anchoring the value proposition as
"in the time it has taken me to tell you this, users have successfully logged..."
Nice! This is the classic world vision ad - in the time it's taken X children have died of starvation. Powerful engaging stuff encouraging you to "act now".
Thanks Esse! I think your spot on with needing a more memorable ending, so I've re written it with a user success story. What do you think?
"Over 140,00 meals have been tracked using Alfred, and we’re currently supporting 110 people to sustainably lose weight, including father of 2 Ben Bartlett, who lost and keeps off 20kgs using Alfred, and did it without giving up his favourite Chocolate Magnum."
Happy to help. I worked with the number 1 real estate salesman in Australia on how to prepare when he was due to present on stage with Sir Richard Branson. He was delighted, as was Sir Richard.
Hi Benny - pitch reads well. My only suggestion would be to include a practical example to give a better understanding of the difference with Alfred - 'There are lots of calories counting apps that have functions such as scanning the barcode on a food package to auto add a serving and the associated calories, but what about when you are served a dish at a restaurant that contains multiple ingredients of varying quantities? Alfred enables you to simply upload a photo of the dish and find out the exact calorie count.'
Cheers Paul and great suggestion as the most common question I get with Alfred is "how's it different to other trackers?". Like you said, I think I need to be more clear about how our solution can cover any meal scenario (eg. with or without a barcode or pic) and that Alfred is just about being mindful when eating, and that's not an exact science in some cases. But nor does it need to be to get good results. Thanks again!
Thanks Craig! Good advice and not trying to get it word perfect is a common theme I'm hearing. Out of interest, what did you think Alfred was before reading this?
I reckon you should emphasise the human support aspect even more, it isn't designed to stagnate on your phone, it has active involvement by real people.
Yeah I reckon, clients aren't engaging a machine, they are leveraging industry relevant people. It shows there is care involved.
As an aside/exciting thought (and a massive contradiction to what I say above). AI and machine learning is probably on the cusp of being able to identify the meals from photo analysis alone, so even if the staffing becomes a struggle, the right developer, with the right tools, could give you a market leading product in the not too distant future.
Best of luck with the presentation mate, you going to nail it whatever you say.
Think you need to be stronger about Alfred's purpose - is it mainly about energy or about weightloss? Yes they go together but as it reads now it's a bit disjointed having the whole energy bit pop up just before the end.
Also need to make the pitch structure around the context of the meeting. Are you asking for money? Are you just raising awareness? Are you looking for technical help on the solution? Look up structures for a 60 second pitch. Plenty of examples such as this:
1. Introduce yourself – give specifics. This is where you tell people who you are and why you're an authority. ...
2. Define the problem and explain why your audience should care. ...
Great question and it's something I'm torn on. Alfred is about having more energy, which is the result of losing some weight. But my struggle is how I communicate that to a new user, who is usually solely focused on "weight loss" and not having more energy.
It reads well. I would add a comment about 'reducing friction'. The Alfred app is a low friction solution for healthy eating, recognising that the easiest path is the one that we will normally take. Good luck.
Cheers Luke and spot on as that's exactly what we are trying to do. Reduce the friction for anyone who looking to sustainably lose weight thru mindful eating.
Love it mate. I would strengthen the end with Esse's suggestion. You're passionate about this and that will shine through.
Cheers mate! Will def try to strengthen the end and thanks for the support!
Good luck Ben! I went to a Toastmasters club for 2 years to banish my public speaking demons... here are some things I found useful from that experience.
1. Try not to memorise *exactly* (word for word) what you are going to say, but know the subject well enough to speak about it (you know Alfred back to front so I bet this is not an issue).
2. Keep a palm card with some short bullet points on it just in case (even in your pocket). You probably won't need it, but sometimes having it makes you feel better.
3. Rehearse it out loud multiple times in front of someone, or even by yourself. Make sure it's out loud - not just reading the words in your mind - this helps because you have done it before... you can do it again.
On the content itself, the only thing I thought would be good is if you have a short paragraph with a small story about your own struggles up front of the presentation. This communicates your "why" and stories tend to engage the audience.
Hope that helps - and good luck. You've played in front of tens of thousands at a heaving Twickenham, you got this 😀
Cheers,
Ben
Thanks Ben and I've def been guilty at trying to memorize every word! PS: would take playing at a packed twickenham over public speaking any day lol
Make sure you write an update post about how your pitch went! Good luck
Will do!
Heya Ben! Some good feedback here in the comments. You can't go wrong if you speak with confidence and from the heart. I think adding in your personal story is helpful. From my experience on my business social media pages, the posts people engage with the most are the ones that are more personal.
PS: I used Alfred for me emerging technologies assignment :). I love the concept and I did find a study that said that having to prep/weigh/quantify food is what deters people from using calorie tracking aps and that taking a picture or texting what you ate is preferable for the consumer.
I'm not going to wish you luck, because you don't need it. You've done the work, back yourself. :D
Hey Clare! Lots of great feedback and I agree that I can't go wrong if I speak from the heart.
Nice! How'd you go with your assignment?
I'll let you know when I get the result :) It's not due until tomorrow, in my goal of not falling behind I've managed to submit it early.
Well done. Was never able to submit an assignment more than 1 hr before it’s due lol
Have a strong and memorable final sentence which the audience can easily repeat to others. Linked with an opening story, this completes the problem-solution arc. As the pitch and your stated time commitment for Alfred are both 1 minute, consider anchoring the value proposition as
"in the time it has taken me to tell you this, users have successfully logged..."
Nice! This is the classic world vision ad - in the time it's taken X children have died of starvation. Powerful engaging stuff encouraging you to "act now".
ohhh I like this!
Thanks Esse! I think your spot on with needing a more memorable ending, so I've re written it with a user success story. What do you think?
"Over 140,00 meals have been tracked using Alfred, and we’re currently supporting 110 people to sustainably lose weight, including father of 2 Ben Bartlett, who lost and keeps off 20kgs using Alfred, and did it without giving up his favourite Chocolate Magnum."
Being able to keep eating a Chocolate Magnum is memorable, yes :-)
Though so. 😂
Happy to help. I worked with the number 1 real estate salesman in Australia on how to prepare when he was due to present on stage with Sir Richard Branson. He was delighted, as was Sir Richard.
Hi Benny - pitch reads well. My only suggestion would be to include a practical example to give a better understanding of the difference with Alfred - 'There are lots of calories counting apps that have functions such as scanning the barcode on a food package to auto add a serving and the associated calories, but what about when you are served a dish at a restaurant that contains multiple ingredients of varying quantities? Alfred enables you to simply upload a photo of the dish and find out the exact calorie count.'
Cheers Paul and great suggestion as the most common question I get with Alfred is "how's it different to other trackers?". Like you said, I think I need to be more clear about how our solution can cover any meal scenario (eg. with or without a barcode or pic) and that Alfred is just about being mindful when eating, and that's not an exact science in some cases. But nor does it need to be to get good results. Thanks again!
I have read about the struggle a few times. And heard about Alfred. Although didn't know what Alfred was.
The best advice about speaking I can give is talk, don't recite. I got tangled up saying the wrong line and then trying to backtrack to 'get it right'
So have the point you need to cover and then talk about it because you know the subject.
Obviously one minute is a little different. But the bit I just read explains Alfred to be something I and I believe many others could find useful.
Thanks Craig! Good advice and not trying to get it word perfect is a common theme I'm hearing. Out of interest, what did you think Alfred was before reading this?
A business venture of some type. Although I hadn't looked at what, as the transition struggle from athlete was more my interest
Cheers. Will touch on my struggles every now and then, but it’s draining always writing about that stuff
I reckon you should emphasise the human support aspect even more, it isn't designed to stagnate on your phone, it has active involvement by real people.
So you reckon emphasize that we have soon to be nutritionists assessing the meals?
Yeah I reckon, clients aren't engaging a machine, they are leveraging industry relevant people. It shows there is care involved.
As an aside/exciting thought (and a massive contradiction to what I say above). AI and machine learning is probably on the cusp of being able to identify the meals from photo analysis alone, so even if the staffing becomes a struggle, the right developer, with the right tools, could give you a market leading product in the not too distant future.
Best of luck with the presentation mate, you going to nail it whatever you say.
Think you need to be stronger about Alfred's purpose - is it mainly about energy or about weightloss? Yes they go together but as it reads now it's a bit disjointed having the whole energy bit pop up just before the end.
Also need to make the pitch structure around the context of the meeting. Are you asking for money? Are you just raising awareness? Are you looking for technical help on the solution? Look up structures for a 60 second pitch. Plenty of examples such as this:
1. Introduce yourself – give specifics. This is where you tell people who you are and why you're an authority. ...
2. Define the problem and explain why your audience should care. ...
3. Explain your solution. ...
4. Make your ask. ...
5. Say thanks.
Great question and it's something I'm torn on. Alfred is about having more energy, which is the result of losing some weight. But my struggle is how I communicate that to a new user, who is usually solely focused on "weight loss" and not having more energy.
What do you think?
Interesting idea and narrative. Good luck.
Cheers Stephen.
It reads well. I would add a comment about 'reducing friction'. The Alfred app is a low friction solution for healthy eating, recognising that the easiest path is the one that we will normally take. Good luck.
Cheers Luke and spot on as that's exactly what we are trying to do. Reduce the friction for anyone who looking to sustainably lose weight thru mindful eating.