Have you ever been in a presentation where buzzwords like “synergy,” “interchain,” and “paradigm shift” were used, leaving the audience confused? This common phenomenon, which I call “technobabble fever,” might make the speaker feel like The Architect (from The Matrix) but leaves listeners bored and wonderings what’s for lunch. These blunders can render communication ineffective and fail to create the desired impact.
Don’t worry; I have a recipe to reinvigorate your pitch — whether you’re selling a multi-million dollar transformation or yourself.
👉🏼 Words you use
DO LESS: Information Overkill and Jargon Jungle: A lethal combination that many fall prey to is the trifecta of using convoluted jargon, bombarding the audience with an avalanche of information, and taking the scenic route to the point. This perfect storm alienates your audience, buries your core message, and tests their waning attention spans.
DO MORE: Clarity Potion and Linguistic Compass: First, break down your message into simple, digestible morsels. Picture explaining it to a curious 5-year-old. Next, replace the cryptic jargon with everyday language – if your grandma wouldn’t get it, it’s too complex. Remember, your customer isn’t fluent in your internal lingo and acronyms – speak their dialect. Finally, take a direct path to your point, don’t dilly-dally through the woods. Imagine your words are the golden breadcrumbs leading your audience to the “so what” treasure. By simplifying your language and being succinct, you ensure your audience doesn’t get lost in translation and stays engaged in your treasure hunt.
👉🏼 Tune in
DO LESS: Lack of Audience Awareness: Not tailoring the message to the audience is a grave mistake. If you don’t consider what’s relevant to your audience, you’ll miss hitting the mark on why they should care.
DO MORE: Acute Audience Awareness: The first step is knowing your audience. And I don’t mean just knowing their names and job titles. It’s about understanding their motivations, desires, and pain points with the acuity of a detective solving a complex case. If you pitch renewable energy solutions to environmental enthusiasts, immerse yourself in their world, understand their language, and align your solution with their core values. Hide in their bushes to see if they drive an electric car, for example. Just kidding.
👉🏼 Feel their pain
DO LESS: Neglecting the Emotional Connection: People often forget that emotions drive decision-making. A dry, facts-only presentation won’t resonate as effectively as one that ties facts to emotional benefits. Ardent procurement folks included.
DO MORE: The Elixir of Empathy: Empathy is the secret sauce that can elevate a pitch from mundane to magnetic. It’s about resonating with your audience’s emotions. For instance, don’t dwell on technical specifications if you’re marketing a coffee machine. Instead, transport your audience to the tranquil ambiance of a Sunday morning, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee enveloping them as they sip their perfect cup. This sensory journey is where connections are forged. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman should be your bible here.
👉🏼 Start with the end in mind
DO LESS: Focusing on Features, Not Benefits: Many people tend to focus on features or processes instead of benefits or outcomes. This makes the audience question, “So what does this mean for me?”
DO MORE: Outcome Orientation: Features are mere facts; outcomes are transformations. Features inform, but outcomes inspire. If you’re pitching a scheduling app, don’t merely state that it integrates calendars. Instead, paint a picture of a life where double bookings are folklore and no cherished moments with loved ones are sacrificed at the altar of miscommunication.
👉🏼 Curiosity over conclusions
DO LESS: Jumping to conclusions: A common blunder people make regarding problem espionage is assuming they know it all. Instead of donning their detective hats and actively listening to uncover the client’s genuine concerns, they bulldoze ahead with presumptions. The art of staying curious and inquisitive is sacrificed at the altar of overconfidence. Michael Bungay Stanier, author of “The Coaching Habit,” nailed it when he said, “Tell less and ask more.” Instead of seeking to understand through attentive listening and probing questions, they plow through their pitch, oblivious to the client’s unique challenges.
Not having a pulse on what truly ails the client, their approach resembles more of a script readout than a tailored solution. It’s like claiming to know what ails a patient without letting them speak during the consultation. This disconnect undermines credibility and squanders the opportunity to genuinely resonate with the client and offer a solution that hits home.
DO MORE: With Them vs To Them: Taking a page from Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why,” the art of problem espionage is all about intimately understanding your customer’s pain points as if you’ve been a fly on the wall in their chaos-ridden offices. This deep dive into their woes helps you to spotlight why your product is the hero they need effectively. Use language that resonates with their daily struggles and articulate their challenges so vividly that they’d think you’ve read their diary.
You’re essentially telling them, “I’ve seen the monster under your bed, and here’s how we’re going to tame it.” By engaging in this level of empathetic storytelling, you’re not just throwing information at them; you’re weaving a narrative where your product emerges as the guardian, the shield against the mayhem caused by missed deadlines and communication mishaps. Through this, you foster a deeper connection, building trust and showing commitment to tailor-made solutions for the monsters they face daily. Your audience will realize you’re not just selling something – you’re answering their ‘Why’ with a solution forged from understanding and expertise.
👉🏼 Transformation stories
DO LESS: Lack of a Clear Value Proposition: Not articulating a product, service, or idea’s value is a significant mistake. The audience needs to understand what sets it apart and why it matters.
DO MORE: Elegant Evidence: Show, don’t just tell. Tangible proof is your currency of credibility. Provide evidence, but do it with panache. If you offer a language learning app, share the anecdote of a user who, through your app, learned impeccable Italian and navigated an authentic conversation with locals in Florence.
👉🏼 People buy from people
DO LESS: Neglecting the Emotional Connection: People often forget that emotions drive decision-making. A dry, facts-only presentation won’t resonate as effectively as one that ties facts to emotional benefits.
DO MORE: Infuse Personality: As Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Inject your unique flair into the presentation. Your product is not a faceless entity but the brainchild of passion, innovation, and grit. Share stories, be relatable, and let your genuine enthusiasm shine through.
👉🏼 Create FOMO
DO LESS: No Call-to-Action: Failing to include a clear call-to-action leaves the audience with no clear next steps or understanding of what they should do with the information they’ve received.
DO MORE: A Riveting Call to Action: Be bold. Invite them to join a revolution. Make them feel like they’re enlisting in a grand journey to change the world. This is your curtain call; make it memorable. Craft a call to action akin to an invitation to an odyssey rather than a pedestrian concluding remark.
👉🏼 Practice, practice, practice.
DO LESS: The Unpolished Tale: Here’s where the magic of preparation meets the art of storytelling. Many folks underestimate the spell that practicing casts on their delivery. But here’s the twist: pair it with the alchemy of storytelling.
DO MORE: The Harmonious Dance of Logic and Emotion: The psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” discussed how decisions involve a delicate ballet of emotion and reason. Lead with an emotional hook, then parade the logic. For instance, don’t commence with security features if you’re presenting cloud storage solutions. Instead, conjure the vision of an eternal life unshackled by data worries, and then, when the hearts are alight, present the features as the enablers of this newfound freedom.
Finally, a compelling pitch is like a symphony, where notes of empathy, emotion, logic, and value coalesce into a harmonious crescendo that resonates with the audience. It is an artful tapestry woven with the threads of understanding and passion, charting a path for your audience to journey from what is to what could be.
