Last month our client presentation crashed 20 minutes in, we fixed it with a poster board

Our studio had a big pitch for a local coffee chain in Austin, and the slideshow software kept freezing on the shared screen. After 20 minutes of awkward silence, I grabbed a marker and sketched the whole campaign concept on a big poster board from the supply closet. The client actually loved the rough, hands-on version and we landed the contract yesterday. Has anyone else ditched the tech mid-meeting and ended up with a better result?

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1 Comment

roberts.diana5h ago

I used to be the person who thought any meeting without a full slide deck was unprofessional. But hearing how you just grabbed a marker and made it work on the spot really changed my view. There's something about the raw, unpolished version that feels more honest and real to clients. They get to see how you actually think, not just a polished product that could be hiding a mess. I've started keeping a blank pad on the table at every pitch now, just in case. It's like the tech is a safety net, but the poster board is the tightrope act that actually earns trust.