Tag Archives: pitchcoach

David Cameron and the ‘rule of three’.

The Party Conference season is already a distant memory, overtaken by the fun the media are having with Liam Fox and Adam Werritty. In truth the conferences were not that newsworthy and the speeches from all sides uninspired. Amidst this mediocrity, Cameron, without scaling the heights of his leadership winning “No notes Cameron” speech five years ago, stood apart.

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 It was not a great speech but it was cleverly constructed. Philip Collins in The Times analysed it making this observation.

“Rule of three; three rules. The first full paragraph of the speech tells the story in miniature. It is already obvious that whatever we think of the content of the argument, there is a structure here on which to hang the material. There are three questions and we shall take them in order. He ends this summary of the speech with the operative word: leadership.”

Here is that first paragraph.

People have a very clear instruction for this Government; “Lead us out of this economic mess.” ” Do it in away that’s fair and right.” “And as you do it, make sure you build something worthwhile for us and our children.” Clear instructions. Clear objectives. And from me a clear understanding that in these difficult times it is leadership we need. 

Armed with this clear, signposted, easily communicated ‘three’ structure Cameron could focus on his delivery, giving a performance of command and confidence. Leadership in action. Essential to the winning pitch.

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Performing with “focus of attention.”

The last post looked at advice given to actors by Dr David Roland in his book, The Confident Performer. In essence, see the pitch as a challenge rather than a threat.  He discussed the need for “focussed attention”, drawing parallels with sport. “One of the greatest performance pressures bought to bear on people in contemporary society must surely be that of an Olympic athlete waiting to compete in an event.”

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Arguably, this pressure is at its greatest at the start of the 100 metre sprint (or from experience, the 110 metre high hurdles). A few weeks ago Usain Bolt in spectacular fashion got it wrong. Why? The the best qualfied commentator, Michael Johnson, said it was not lack of confidence, which he has in abundance, it was lack of focus of attention.

Bolt acknowledged he made a mistake. His attention, normally intensely focussed, may have been diverted to thinking about the global audience, the fact he had not registered a good time in two years, the fact he had tough competition from another Jamaican. Who knows but for once his thoughts were not in the present,  focussing on himself and executing this race.

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Someone whose astonishing Gold medal was more the result of “focus of attention” than it was of talent was David Hemery. In his study of sport’s highest achievers, Sporting Excellence, he notes that “If an occasion is very meaningful, whether it is a social encounter, a business deal or a sports contest, there is almost always some apprehension. In the case of the high achieving athletes, for a period of time their top priority has been focussed and centred achieving their goal.”

Any pitch is “a very meaningful encounter” and yet for the most part the participants will turn up a few minutes beforehand straight from demanding meetings, hitting deadlines or soothing clients! Not ideal preparation for focussing attention.  Athletes will prepare with a lengthy warm-up period which is as much about the  mental as it is the physical.  Why not a pitch warm-up?

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The Confident Performer

 The good pitch calls for performance and for many this leads to anxiety! Not surprisingly actors who perform on a daily basis, not occasionally like those pitching, spend a lot of time and thought on how to manage nerves when it really matters. A well written book for actors, The Confident Performer by Dr David Roland, offers wise advice.

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 He discusses what he calls the Game of Anxiety, experiencing tension, butterflies in the stomach or nervous anticipation, and reminds us that “some self-doubt about your ability to perform is perfectly normal and understandable.” He offers sensible practical advice on handling nerves through ‘breathing awareness’ but his greater insight relates to the way you approach a performance. Do you see it as a threat in which case nerves can get the better of you. Or do you see it as challenge?

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“When artists perceive their performance as a challenge, their mental, behavioural and physiological responses give them the feeling of excitement. Operating in challenge mode you interpret your nervousness as a readiness to get on with the job.” He also says: “If you are performing because you love what you do and wish to be successful at it, then perceiving performance as a challenge makes a lot of sense.”

While love may be a step too far, if you do not enjoy and do not get a kick out of pitching then you will not perform well. Roland concludes that:

 “Ultimately, the joy of performing is to bring to life a piece of theatre, music, or dance in a way that is inspiring for you and the audience.”

It is a great insight. If you do not enjoy pitching in a way that is inspiring for you, why should it inspire your audience?

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“It’s the way I tell’em!”

In the Mail today veteran ‘master of mirth’ Frank Cason held forth with his views on the ten best jokes nominated at the Edinburgh Fringe. Perhaps not surprisingly he did not rate the comedians as funny as Tommy Cooper, but then who is. Observing that delivery is all important, he quoted his own catchprase,  “It’s the way I tell’em!”

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For anyone pitching the phrase is a good reminder on two fronts. Firstly, if you can’t tell jokes, and very few can, don’t. Don’t feel you should try it in a midsguided attempt to get your audience on side.  The chances of it working are minimal and the more likely scenario is embarrassment.

However do make it your own cri de coeur for the pitch itself. The commonest error is focus on content to the detriment of performance, worry about what you say, rather than the way you say it. It really is the “way you tell’em” that counts. That how your performance matches the rest of Carson words,  “IT’S A CRACKER!”

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The winning joke incidentally, from comic Nick Helm : “I needed a password eight characters long, so I picked Snow White and the seven dwarves.” Not that funny?

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“That speech turned the tide”.

 A week of  riots called for some exceptional public response from our political leaders. Sadly it was not in evidence. Late back from holiday, Cameron was always on the back foot. He was ‘professionally’ angry but that was all. Milliband unlike Harman refrained from too much point scoring, but politicians were all put in their place by Sir Hugh Orde dismissing them as “an irrelevance”.

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Fortunately for all of us “cometh the hour, cometh the man” and he was not a politician. The truly remarkable Tariq Jahan.

Here is what Bryan Appleyard interviewing him for the Sunday Times wrote : “Faith gave  Tariq, a 46 year old Currys delivery driver, the strength and composure to make a magnificent speech from the heart just a few hours after his son had died. In just 490 words he consoled a convulsed nation”

The Chief Constable of the West Midlands said the impact had been decisive. “Those words were so powerful, so heartfelt and so spontaneous and generous that I think that anyone who heard them must have been moved. Certainly, anyone that felt there was any mileage from continuing a cycle of violence in the name of those young men that died will have thought twice about it.”

In his interview with Appleyard, Tariq Jahan said this: “There is never a situation on earth, I believe, that you can’t communicate with someone and calm the situation down. You don’t have to use violence.”

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