Entrepreneurs: Adding business and marketing value to handouts.

[Arvo Lennart Vercamer]

Handouts are an effective business and marketing tool. They come in many different sizes and configurations. That said, handouts are only as effective as the messages printed on them. A handout that is retained by a recipient has a much higher value to both the giver and the taker. Because a key goal is to have a handout recipient retain their handout, the design and the distribution methods of handouts require careful pre-planning and preparation efforts.

If one is planning a handout campaign, there are some basic questions that need to be first addressed. What is the purpose of the handout:

- The reinforcement of your credibility/professionalism?
- The addition of supporting information (data, prices, summaries, etc.)?
- Branding/message recall/reinforcement?
- Audience participation (come to my store, try out my products/services, etc.)?
- Contact information?
- Other points you can think of?

A bottom line is that a handout really needs to be well thought out and assembled, before it is ready to be distributed to its audiences. Here are a few ideas that are sure to help increase the effectiveness of any handout:

Simplicity rules:

- Keep things simple, too much information or a "too busy" layout can often have negative consequences.
- Focus on just a few concepts/key words/points.
- Each point made on the handout should be clear and concise. People should be listening/observing you during a presentation, not reading your handout to the point of tuning you out.

Matching messages:

- The handout should match your presentation closely.
- If you are making several points, number the points and stick to those numbers.
- Keep text sections short and to the point - a little word-smithing will go a long ways.....

Graphics and layout:

- Graphics/illustrations should be nice, clean and effective. But do not add to many.
- Leave some blank space for note taking.
- The handout should be appealing to the eye.
- Minimize the use of fancy borders or clip art.

Avoid letting the handout distract your audience:

- In general terms, people concentrate on one line of thought at a time. If you give them something to read that does not match the content/style of your verbal presentation, they will stop thinking about one thought in order to follow another thought.
- Design the handout to represent the content and spirit of your verbal presentation.

Handout distribution:

- If your material is very complex, you may wish to provide your handout(s) to your audience before your talk. Please give them ample opportunities to read/review the handout before you begin with your verbal presentation.
- If you have a great deal of content in your verbal presentation, consider preparing a number of handouts, then distributing them to your audience throughout your presentation. In some instances, providing your audience with a "handout packet" might not be the best solution. Giving your audience too many materials to read up front often has them losing interest in what you are saying - they have read ahead and know what is next.
- If the purpose of your handout is primarily to remind your audience of key points, distributing the handouts at the end of your presentation might be something to consider.

Your contact information:
- Do not be remiss in adding your contact information to a handout. How can they call you? What is the e-mail address? Where can they (surface) mail something to? What are the names of the people they should contact? Where can the address their concerns to? What are your business hours?

Designing an effective handout does take a little work. But the end results will be well worth the effort.