Advice from “Life’s A Pitch”
Posted on October 18, 2007 - Filed Under Pitching Ideas
I came across an article that someone has given to me some time ago and found it relevant to yesterday’s post regarding selling your ideas. It contains some sage advice that I have been able to apply with success in my own presentations. According to Stephen Bayley and Roger Mavity, authors of Life’s A Pitch, the people you are trying to sell on your idea or product have the power to give you what you want or reject you. Here’s their advice on how to be a winning pitcher:
Reassure Your Audience
You must defuse the angst the audience members feel about giving up power. Reassure them, minimize risk, and make it safe to say “yes.” You must, at the same time, excite them. No one is going to give up power without getting something in return. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the power is all on one side. You undoubtedly have something they want as well. So feel confident in your own power, which will boost your pitching.
Body Language
Your body language will say as much as your words. Don’t present with your hand in your pocket, which looks scruffy. If you are presenting sitting down, it is harder to dominate and control your audience.
Ditch the Notes
Don’t use notes. “Few things in life are more unconvincing than a speaker who is constantly referring to their notes. It’s a living advertisement for the fact that they don’t’ have a full grasp of the issue,” the authors write.
Present a Solution
Tell your story from a problem to solution. Your audience has a problem for which they want a solution.
Strong Idea
When you write the pitch, make sure you have a powerful idea that is crystal clear to your audience and that you can display on one cornerstone slide, holding their attention on it when it flashes on the screen.
Take Questions
Welcome questions, which are not an intrusion but a sign of involvement. Don’t’ say you’ll handle them at the end, which implies your timetable is more important than their question. If you planned on handling that issue in a few minutes’ time, flatter them: “I’m afraid you’re three slides ahead of me, but if you hold on I’ll catch up with you in a second.”
End on a Positive Note
If you can’t win a definite yes, make sure you don’t end with a definite no. Use the discussion to identify areas of concern and then agree what further work is needed to resolve them.
- Christian
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