I’ve run into a lot of people networking lately, and the icebreaker and #1 question on everybody’s mind is “What do you do?“. How I answer that question usually determines where the conversation will go.
I have lots of proven ideas and techniques for HOW to deliver the message — it’s the message that everybody seems to struggle with. At a business networking event the other night, our 30 minutes allotted to The Pitch turned into a 2+ hour marathon as we all critiqued and brainstormed ways to make our pitches better. Everyone agreed — it’s hard to get it right. While it’s easy to say what’s wrong with a pitch, it’s harder to figure out what a good one sounds like.
Let’s set the parameters:
- It has to be a maximum of two (2) sentences. Aim for 8 seconds, tops.
- It has to clearly convey what you do and how that relates to the listener.
- It has to be something they can repeat — or at least the idea of it.
- Bonus points if it’s cute, pithy, and makes them go “Wow!“
What are the techniques or principles you use to garner interest in your Pitch? Shoot me a comment or drop a line and I’ll summarize and break them down in a later post.
Know and practice your Pitch.
I love the hope a New Year brings. I hate the realization that it seldom comes to pass. I’ve spent the better part of the last quarter thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2010.
In a discussion the other day, I asked bluntly, “What is a manager’s job?“ I had some ideas already, and none of them involved meetings. 
The answer I got was lockstep with those thoughts. “To make his/her people better.“
As an independent, I’m not a manager, and I don’t think I’d enjoy being one. I have enough trouble getting myself to do all the work that has to be done. But I absolutely love making people better. It is the very essence of my business and what gets me up day after day. And it seems to be a great focus for 2010.
2009 ended with some great successes. It seems that the last few groups of people I taught were just ripe for the lessons that I had to give them. The results were wonderful, immediate, and life-changing. I can’t wait for 2010 and next week to get underway and do it some more. I had “life-changing” in some promotional materials and my copywriter made me take them out. He said it was too abstract. But that’s exactly what I want to do more of — changing lives.
Side note: If you are a manager, focus more on improving your underlings than getting them to “do” something. You’ll be better, and your organization and the people you serve will be, too.
Side note #2: Making someone better involves a whole lot less of telling them what is wrong and a whole lot more of providing the tools to help them get it right.
Side note #3: While it’s easy to get inspired to make others better, what are we doing to make ourselves better? I have my list. I want you to make one, too.
Make someone better. Start with yourself.
Students in my class will quote by heart (because I’ve said it a gazillion times), when you hold something in your hand… you WILL play with it. It’s not a matter of if; it’s a matter of when. It doesn’t matter if it’s the presentation remote, a pen, a laser pointer, the change in your pockets, or your own hands — pretty soon the audience is going to see that object get fondled, tossed, rotated, or shaken.
I was just on the phone with Jeff Bailey hashing out some ideas we’ve had percolating a LONG time (and are on the cusp of releasing some REALLY exciting stuff). We were chatting about this issue, the mechanics of holding and using a remote, and what to do with our hands when I tossed out the quote above. He laughed and said, “Yeah, I’m holding a pen and I’m shaking it all over the office.” I burst out laughing, as I had a USB drive with a swivel cover and I was just flipping that thing around and around like the tilt-a-whirl at the fair.
Steve Jobs — generally a fantastic presenter — fondles his remote and it causes him to hold his hands in the alter boy position (see video. Side note: the messaging and visuals are FANTASTIC). I can’t think of anyone immune to the disease.
Watch him from a distance — focus is drawn to a lot of things other than the message.
Keep your hands clear of objects. Use them to add to your content, not distract your audience.
I’ve watched a couple of presenters in recent weeks speaking in large classrooms/auditoriums that had two screens/displays showing their PowerPoint. there is nothing inherently wrong with that, especially if the rooms are overly wide or curved such that certain locations make a single screen hard to read (in neither case I witnessed was this the issue, but I digress.) We’ve got two screens: so be it.
The major problem with the two screen setup is an extension of the major problem with using a display in the first place: just what do we want our audience’s attention to be focused on? Is it us, the presenter? Or is it the fine content in our beautifully crafted PowerPoint? (hint: it’s about people, and your PowerPoint likely isn’t all that beautiful). This is made tougher when there are TWO screens, and most presenters like to point at or use laser pointers to highlight their slides (that’s a post for another time). What am I to look at if I’m in your audience? And if you’re focused on one screen, what do I do if I can’t see it?
I don’t like laser pointers at all, but if there are two screens, they should absolutely be dropped. Otherwise you’re excluding some audience members or making it tough on them. And by all means, if you have a room big enough for dual screens, use the available space to make the “speaker screen” equally split between right and left. Don’t play favorites with your audience — include everyone.
Don’t exclude half your audience. Split focus equally between dual displays (and use just one if it’s possible).
It’s not hard to go the extra mile. It’s just we often don’t think that it really matters or don’t wish to expend the time and energy. But it matters.
I’ve been traveling this week. That usually means I’m either the recipient of kindness or overlooked for some.
Marriott always seems to exceed expectations. From a friend who used to work there, I know that anyone who is within 10 feet of an employee is supposed to be talked to. I found that this week with everyone from desk clerks to housekeepers to food service. Nice.
The fine folks at Atlas Aviation were giving out all sorts of things to the crowd at Airportfest today. Fireballs. Water. Toys. Bags. And when I mentioned that the goodie bag would help me with the home presents, they immediately picked up that there were kids involved, asked how many, and quickly provided a second goodie bag to make sure there was equal joy in the Hoffler household tomorrow.
Air Traffic Controllers don’t always go the extra mile. We had kindnesses all along the East Coast today. First, Florence Approach alerted us that the U.S. Space Station was about to fly overhead. She could have just told us the altimeter setting. Instead, we got a five-minute warning (we didn’t even know it was a possibility) and a 30-second warning. Another pilot said it arrived (a high wing and a northward path prevented us from seeing it — OK, Piper fans, it’s ONE benefit, but even God put the wings on top). And even the usually gruff Fayetteville controller gave us a step-down pilot-controlled approach and had us cleared before we even asked for all three segments.
Then there were the Expo booth attendants that wouldn’t even talk to me as I looked at their products. Not only did I not get the extra mile, I didn’t even get the mile I felt was expected. They not only didn’t get business, they got poor feelings to boot.
Perhaps it’s a handwritten note (hats off to you, Jeff B and Karen T!). Perhaps it’s a kind word that wasn’t required. Perhaps it’s a follow-up phone call. Perhaps it’s giving more than is required or an extra tip. Whatever it is, it is likely to be appreciated, likely to help you be remembered, and will give you a yummy feeling regardless of response.
Go the extra mile. Do more than is expected.
Frequently, there are non-presenters who are part of the “presentation”. Perhaps it’s someone from the sales team who isn’t speaking at that particular moment. Or maybe it’s the wait staff at a conference that has catering. Or perhaps it’s the sound crew that turns a knob once during the presentation (as I saw today).
The presenter is standing at right. Audience members seated in front of me. Sound guy — browsing on his Blackberry — to the left.
An isolation shot of our intrepid sound man is included below. He did this for close to an hour. Problem, of course, is that it was in plain sight of every person in the audience. If he can’t pay attention, why should they?
This particular soul was a contract employee of the rather large conference. he has nothing to do with the content of the presentation and is so far removed from the conference he likely couldn’t care less if the presentation was a success or not. But the presenter pays the price.
A worse case I witnessed was a senior sales guy out with a junior sale guy and the technical presenter (pre-sales support engineer). The senior guy opens with the intro, hands off the junior guy and demo geek, and proceeds to go sit down, lean against the wall and… fall asleep. Just what message do you think that sent?
Control all public-facing people in your presentation to focus attention on you/your message.
Went to a seminar the other day on web marketing (Side note: look for BIG changes and announcements soon to this blog and web site!) The speaker gave everyone a chance to announce what they do, and he made a joke about me being a “speech coach” (not how I introduced myself, but it’ll do). It was a running gag (and great publicity!). At one point, I shouted back “Do you need a speech coach?” and he answered (laughing), “No!“. And then added, “Well, that’s not true. He (me) already knows and I know, we can ALWAYS get better. Everyone needs a coach. And that’s why you’re here.“ It was a great truth, great segue to his own content, and pretty quick thinking on his feet.
A lot of people ask me what the key ingredients are to making a great speaker. I believe that the #1 characteristic is just that: the knowledge that you can get better. I’ve found that teachers, trainers, sales folks, and upper management — people who talk a lot — frequently think that because they aren’t getting fired, they must be pretty good. And many of them are (and probably just as many aren’t). But we can all be better.
Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world because he thinks he can get better. The minute Muhammad Ali declared, “I am the greatest!” he was doomed to get beaten. Any country (American, anyone?) that thinks its best days are behind it, will find that to be true.
Find something that you can improve on, and do it.
I recently made an order for custom marketing materials, including some ink pens. I made my vendor selection from the web based primarily on the visibility and their web presence. They are a commodity to me — I was unable to (quickly) make a local connection and went with convenient and cheap.
Upon a phone inquiry about the few questions I had — including a confirmation that I could get blue ink pens — everything was answered satisfactorily and I made the order. Because it is a custom order with my corporate logo, I was given very rigid directions about submitting artwork and the procedure. When the proof didn’t come at the time I was told to expect them, I inquired and was given the proof (1 day late). The artwork looked good and I approved the order, having the items in my hand in less than 10 days (which was better than promised). The pens look great.
But…
The pens had black ink instead of the blue I had specifically requested. I sent email. Left a voice mail. Left another voice mail. Left another email. Finally got a response that my voice mail hadn’t been received (?) and my email was in spam (like that’s my fault — I replied to an earlier email from their account.) I was told they’d look into it and sure enough today got the response they did.
“I have had the order pulled and I have reviewed the order notes and I do not see a specific color for the ink has been requested. The default ink color for the pens is black. “
This is the person I made the original order with. Their verification system apparently doesn’t spit out ink color, and all I have is my word versus his that I ordered blue.
I’ve thought long and hard about what I wanted done. I was not planning to ask for a refund (it was a rather large order) but wanted to at least be seen as an important customer. I try hard not to read emotion into email — I can conclude that they think I did not order blue ink pens or do not care. At this point, I have no reason to ever do business with this company again. They’ve lost the lifetime value of my business to be seen as “right”.
Find out what is important to your customers. Ask them what they want.
P.S., blue ink is very important to me — I’ve always used it and will throw a black ink pen away. Blue contrasts with printed pages and makes notes easy to read.
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