You're about to deliver a crucial sales pitch to potential investors. How will you calm your nerves?

?? Visualize the presentation in advice ?? Know your story , context and content ?? Understand your target audience ?? Embrace your nervousness and utilize mechanisms like Yoga/ meditation

To calm my nerves before a crucial sales pitch, I focus on deep breathing exercises and positive visualization. I take a few moments to breathe slowly and deeply, which helps reduce anxiety and clear my mind. Then, I visualize the pitch going smoothly—seeing the investors engaged and receptive. This mental rehearsal boosts my confidence, making me feel more prepared. For example, before presenting a proposal for a significant project in my previous role, I felt nervous about the outcome. By practicing deep breathing and visualizing a successful meeting, I was able to calm my nerves and deliver the pitch confidently, leading to a positive response from the investors.

Calming nerves is a learned process. It’s different for each person. Some can simply focus on the task ahead and go step by step and trust the process and hence the resulting outcome. Some need to use visualisation techniques as taught during classroom speeches aka you are talking to a bunch of … <insert choice> instead of people. Some find simply focusing on one face for a while then changing to a different face after certain points helps not only them but it pays off because you are in turn engaging directly with each person present. All you have to do is find the method that works for yourself first and then adapt it to make it work for your audience too.

Visualisation whilst powerful can be counterproductive. If we visualise too much on the process then when the event or occasion comes, if it differs in some way to how we visualised then our mind has no reference point. A more effective form of visualisation can be to imagine the outcome. The feeling after the event the reaction as we leave or the sense of accomplishment. This subtle shift places less emphasis on process allowing our mind flexibility.

In my experience, shifting focus from oneself to the audience is a game-changer in public speaking, especially when pitching to investors. As someone who has navigated from humble beginnings to Fortune 500 boardrooms, I've learned that engagement is key. By asking rhetorical questions and responding to body language, I've seen a room of skeptics turn into believers. It's not just about the AI technology we're presenting; it's about how it resonates with the audience and adds value to their lives. This approach has been instrumental in TetraNoodle's success in delivering impactful solutions.

I say to myself, "There is nothing I can say or do to mess this up." Understanding that if the concept fits what the investors are looking for than it will all work out.