MASTER THE ART OF THE PITCH
What do you do when you have a product or service to promote? What do you do when you want others to participate in the benefits of your product or service? What do you do to emotionally connect with your audience? How do you master the art of the pitch?
We all want to be understood when pitching to prospects, presenting to our team, addressing a large audience, or meeting face-to-face with an individual. Pitching is the new catchphrase for business development/sales. Entrepreneurs are no longer “selling” their venture’s services or products. They are “pitching” it to investors, prospective customers and employees, and others.
How do you emotionally connect with your audiences?
Think like a producer of a radio or television commercial in preparing your pitch. Commercials follow a simple formula.
- Get the audience’s attention.
- Outline the problem.
- Provide the solution.
- Present a call to action.
- The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle is the key to a successful commercial/pitch. It is also the key to successfully and effectively communicate your ideas to others.
This KISS principle also applies to whatever media you use as part of your pitch. Avoid death by PowerPoint and PowerPointless. Think of each slide/image like a billboard that can be read and comprehended as you quickly drive by. The brain can’t simultaneously focus on you the pitcher and a white screen full of bulleted text and fully comprehend what you’re pitching. Be sure that your slides pass the glance/billboard test.
Once you put your KISS commercial together, be sure it fits the parameters of the following equation:
Solution – (jargon + bullets) x Passion ÷ Relevance = Understanding
When you effectively put mind, voice, body and media together you will master the Art of the Pitch and emotionally connect with your audience.
As a coach, trainer and consultant, Larry Blumsack partners with people and organizations on the move and those already there to accelerate their communication, presentation and speaking skills to be on par with their ambition. Through one-on-one coaching and group training Larry helps leaders and aspiring leaders elevate their presence and communication skills to influence more people, sell more products-services-ideas and inspire others more successfully than they ever imagined.
Larry is the bestselling author of Face-to-Face is The Ultimate Social Media and founder of Zoka Institute and Zoka Training®. Zoka Training® — Mind/Voice/Body/Mindfulness in sync — is the result of Larry’s 45 years as a coach, acting teacher, actor, voice-over artist, theater and TV director/producer, radio & TV commentator and show host, speaker, trainer, serial entrepreneur, and syndicated columnist. Larry was a founding member of the theater department at Northeastern University.
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