I recently participated as one of five judges in a competition designed to select the best business ideas from among 139 teams. Each team submitted three pages highlighting: a short summary of the business (elevator pitch), product and marketing strategy, a discussion of the competitive advantage or how they would differentiate their company from the competition, an overview of the management team and a review of the business model.

After hours of reading and consultation among the judges, a number of teams were selected and awarded cash prizes to assist in further developing the most promising ideas. I remain convinced that several very good ideas were not selected, primarily due to the team's inability to make a winning presentation.

In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Jay Conger said that "the most valuable lesson I've learned over the years is that there's just as much strategy in how you present your position as in the position itself. In fact, I'd say the strategy of presentation is the more critical."

I agree. Too little time is spent in strategizing on how to sell the idea to your audience.

In today's multi-media world, an entrepreneur is expected to not only provide a written submission, but also to be ready with a dynamic visual presentation. The use of PowerPoint computer presentation software and other visual tools is no longer a luxury - it is expected.

As managing director of an early stage capital venture firm, Garage Technology Ventures, and as one of the individuals responsible for the success of the Macintosh computer, Guy Kawasaki has seen a lot of winning presentations - and even more losing presentations. During a conference in Salt Lake City last month, he provided some insights on what he considers to be a winning presentation.

His advice is to observe the 10/20/30 rule; 10 slides, presented in no more than 20 minutes, using a text size in the slide presentation of at least a 30-point font. Since most meetings are scheduled for one hour, keeping the presentation to 20 minutes will allow you to spend important time answering questions, resolving outstanding issues and developing relationships.

Remember that you will most likely not get a firm commitment from your audience in a first meeting, but what you want to accomplish is to differentiate yourself from the other competitors and to move to the next step in the process - whether that step is raising capital, making a sale, or establishing a partnership.

Tongue in cheek, Guy suggests that the text font size should be no smaller than the age of the oldest person in the audience divided by two. If you want to read more of Guy's thoughts, you can find them in his new book, "The Art of the Start."

After developing your presentation, take the necessary time to prepare your delivery. Ask yourself the following questions to determine your readiness to convince the audience that you have a winning message:

• Passion: How passionate do you feel about what you are communicating? Do you care enough to connect emotionally with the audience?
• Sincerity: Do you believe in the message,in the assumptions, facts and finally the recommendations? If not, what needs to be done to add credibility to the presentation?
• Readiness: Have you taken the time to fully prepare for the presentation? Can you make your delivery without constantly referring to notes, looking at the screen, or pausing to collect your thoughts?

One of the best feelings in the business world is making a winning presentation when everything is on the line. It's like hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth, or draining a three-pointer as the clock expires. It's sweet! But remember: just like those winning athletic efforts, you don't just step up and make a winning presentation out of thin air. The strategy of the presentation is critical.