A touch of the ridiculous

Most pitches and presentations can be judged under three headings. Firstly, those that are little more than a one -way proclamation and re-gurgitation of a document, typically chart or PowerPoint heavy on supporting facts and track record. These are “information transmissions”. Few succeed.

Then we have the “professional communications” covering a majority of pitches, where a few key messages deemed important to the audience are coherently and clearly articulated. Unless they are up against the final group, many will succeed.

The final ones, the ideal, are those that make “emotional connections“. These are pitches built around the understanding that people (including prospects) might conclude rationally but they act emotionally. And an emotional response  to a pitch calls for performance! As Paul Arden, in his world-best-selling-book, said when you pitch “you are putting on a show”.  Continue reading →

Breathing together.

Some years ago Martin Jones, then of the AAR a body helping clients through the pitch process, wrote a thoughtful article on the learnings from receiving over 600 pitches. Essentially, he concluded that for the most part decisions were not based on track records, strategic insight or clever solutions.  They were influenced hugely by these three emotionally based concerns.

Do I  like these people? Do they like each other? How hungry are they for my business? Continue reading →

Handling the BIG speech nerves.

 Speaking in public is high on the list of fears for most people. Much has been written by psychologists about finding the right coping strategies and many will work given the luxury of  time. For those who can’t find that time, here is an entirely practical approach to the problem.

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In essence, do not tackle, as a single daunting task, an unbroken, say, 20 minutes of deathless prose. Think in terms of  five short ‘ part-works’ that will make-up the whole. They are easier to write, easier to deliver and easier on your audience – who mostly will not be hostile!

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Prepare your material using the classic ‘rule of three’ structure. In all, five components. The ‘overture’- when you introduce yourself, declare your subject or challenge and three supporting themes (A,B,C). Then develop these in three ‘acts’, each with no more than three scenes. Lastly your ‘finale’, drawing your 3 themes together into an inevitable conclusion.

 Think of your 3 headings, and subs, as verbal signposts, to be emphasised at the start and end of each section. These signposts not only keep your audience on track, they keep you on track. Remember them and you will find remembering your script much easier. 

  Cultivate the     PAUSE. It is probably the easiest  thing to do that will improve your presentation style, increase your confidence and manage nerves. In normal conversation, naturally, you pause for thought.  Quite simply, consciously reproduce this in the big speech. Pause between every small change of subject, longer pauses between acts. Use the spaces between the blocks in the diagram to plot your pauses. 

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In The King’s Speech, we learnt that King George was forced to pause to overcome his impediment but the resulting speeches were seen as both powerful and hugely confident. Most of us are not forced to pause, but when we do we become more confident and we are seen as confident.

Finally, practice, or better still rehearse to someone, and work on one short act at a time. Try not to worry about the words and focus on your signposts and your pauses. The rest will follow more easily!

Getting in the mood.

The words ‘getting in the mood’ are normally followed with ‘for sex’. While this, sadly perhaps, is not the subject of this post it is about being in the right mood for performance when it really matters. An Olympic hundred metres final, a Carnegie Hall concert and, yes, the all-important pitch.

In high performance sport and, I’m sure, in the performing arts, the difference between the good, the technically excellent and the great is an ablility to rise to the occasion, to harness not merely physical perfection or virtuosity but the emotional power and focus that lifts performance to the extraordinary. Continue reading →

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