The 3-Minute Rule Book Notes

I believe this book will be helpful for me to refer to when I need to ask better questions to analyze future ideas, as well as synthesize my thoughts - especially, because I have been known to ramble lol. Take a look at my notes if you're intrigued and visit the author's page at 3minuterule.com for further reference. All the best!

The 3-Minute Rule

By: Brant Pinvidic

see: 3minuterule.com

Introduction

A. Attention span

I. Rather than people having short attention spans (8.2 seconds according to Microsoft). Think of it as shorter, more efficient time spans.

II. To overcome this, the audience must conceptualize your idea, contextualize how it will benefit them, and then actualize it with potential engagement or further interest - in less than 3 minutes.

B. Steps

1. Simplify and condense information to only the most compelling, valuable and necessary elements

2. Connect these elements with entertaining and narrative story devices that capture and maintain the audience's attention and expand it for the full three minutes

Chapter 1: the three minute rule

A. Misconceptions

1. Your presentation needs flair, pageantry, and creative language to cut through the clutter and get noticed... - it's the exact opposite!?????????

> Rather,?you should focus on trying to convey the information effectively.

> Success in life and business is dictated by your ability to convey your information to others so they understand it the way you do

2. My business/product/service is too complicated to explain in three minutes..

> most pitches on Shark Tank are edited to have the first shark say "im out" at the three minute mark. This reinforces the validity of the 3- minute rule

B. Decision by committee

1. It's not just who you pitch to that matters, it's who they have to pitch to, as well.

C. The rationalizing story

1. Two must important factors to a presentation

I. What knowledge does my audience already possess

II. How will the rationalize the decision to buy-in to my proposal

2. The rationalizing story

I. It's the collection of the most valuable elements placed together so you can understand your actions, feelings, and desires.

D. The first step

I. In a world crowded by marketing and messaging, everyone seems to be yelling louder and louder. You don't want to out shout them. You can work smarter, but harder. Speak more softly and get heard.

Chapter 2: the bullets

A. The context:

I. a new "the biggest loser" type of show was being pitched to a room of executives. The explanation was too long for the new idea so they had to come up with a new strategy

B. Post it notes

I. Write down every statement that described the show on individual post it notes (there should be a hundred of them on the wall by the end)

II. Aim to fit only a word or two on the post it notes, so people can see them from the back

III. One by one, begin to eliminate the words that are unnecessary to the core concept - eventually getting down to just seven post its

C. This technique helped the idea to lead to Extreme Makeover: Home Editiom

D. The idea

I. We find *overweight people* too big for the biggest lover

II. We follow them for an *entire year* while they lose the weight

III. We edit the entire year of weight loss into *one episode*

IV. They *start out fat* and by the end of the episode they *are thin*

V. We film all of them at the same time, then they each get their *own episode*

VI. It will be the biggest *transformation* ever on television every week

Chapter 3: WHAC your story

A. WHAC

1. What is it: does it describe your offer or ask is? Is it what you do or what service you perform?

2. How does it work: does it explain why your offer is valuable or important? Does it explain how your product works or how you achieve your goal? Is it about the process?

3. Are you sure: is it a fact or a figure that backs up some of your information? Does it price something? Does it validate or establish potential?

4. Can you do it: is it something that speaks to the ability to execute or make the offering real for your audience? Is it about you or your ability to execute? Is it how you deliver? Is it about the price?

B. As you look at your collection of post it notes, use the WHAC method to help categorize the information and let it help shape your story

C. The story

I. Conceptualize: Premise, You must begin with a solid premise: the purpose. What is the product and how did it work. This takes no more than 1:30seconds.

II. Contextualize: how the information relates to them and their needs. Use data to support the claims that your product will work.?This takes no more than 1 minute.

III. Actualize: after the first two steps, the audience will want to know what to do to make it happen. Why are you the correct entrepreneur/ project manager for the job. This takes no more than 30 seconds.?

D. Questions

I. What is it?

What makes you unique

What can you do that others can’t

What is the biggest need this fills

Are there big monetary advantages to your methods

What problem does this solve

Who is helped the most by this

Why does this have to happen now

What will be different after buying it

What hole in the market does this fill

What could this be worth in success

Why is it low risk

What makes your competition inferior

Why can’t someone copy you

How easy is this to implement

II. How does it work?

What allows you to make your offering work

How can you deliver on your promise

How long will what you propose take

Is this a gradual or immediate change

How many people have this problem

Why haven’t others used this method

Who is actually performing the service

Is there a process that must be precisely followed

Has this been done successfully in the past

Are you taking any shortcuts

How is it safe

What are the things that only you know how to do

Why are there no other ways to do this

Why would you choose this method over others

How much time/money will someone save

Why is your way the only way

III. Are you sure?

What have you said that someone might not believe

Has a third party verified your claims

How can this result be replicated

How do you know there is a need for this

What in your history confirms this

Who are you using to deliver this

What do your reviews say

How valuable is the market

How have people succeeded in this before

What makes you so sure you are right

How did you know you were on to something

Why is this not “Too good to be true”

Has anyone lost money like this

Has any of this been announced in public

Do you have unexpected supporters/Deniers

Why can’t your competition do this better

IV. Can you do it

What have you done that’s similar

Why don’t the regulations apply

Why isn’t this restricted

Is there anything in your past that would ruin this

How have others failed trying something like this

How have you trained for this

Are there other steps to take before you can deliver

Is there any fine print

Are there any other third-parties involved

What success lead you to making this work

Do you have this in your possession now

What do you do if someone changes his or her mind

Do you have any connections that are necessary

Is there anyone better suited to deliver

What are the repercussions of underperformance

Who does someone contact if there is a problem

How have you delt with problems in the past

Chapter 4: the statements of value

A. Story beats style

I. People want to know what it is you offer, how it works, why its good, and how they get it. If you get this it quickly, you'll have an engaged audience.

II. How can you compress everything you think you need to say into only what needs to be said

B. Examples

I. Take your post its and turn them into *statements of value

II. See what follows

Person Trainer -> I'm a certified personal trainer

Rest Period -> a short rest period increased heart rate

Low repetition -> low repetition increases intensity

C. The process of stripping down and building back up opens some new thoughts, some new statements of value

Chapter 5: there's more to your story

A. Ask, "I don't get it"

I. After listening to a 17-minute business pitch, the author asked them to start over, but at each moment when something didn't make sense, the author's team would ask the business person to stop and explain to them what didn't make sense. This lead to more interesting and clearer statements than what the presenter originally provided

II. Asking, "I don't get it" and then, "so what does that mean", when things seem to stall, helps put the information in order, and it was forcing us to come up with more simple and clean statements

B. No such thing as a stupid question

I. If your questions lead you down a dead end and your answers start to sound less authentic, go back up the chain and change an answer

C. The "logline"

I. An elevator pitch: put the most valuable elements of your offering into a single sentence or phrase

II. "Overweight contestants compete to lose the most weight; the winner is the biggest loser"

Chapter 6: information and engagement

A. Confused people don't buy anything (cialdini, influence: the psychology of persuasion)

B. Building a pitch is like building a puzzle.?The purpose is the corner peices, the how it works and why it's good is the frame, and the action plan is the center

C. A plumbers pitch

Plumbing company -> we are a nationwide plumbing company

Re-piping -> we specialize in re-piping homes

Water problems -> re-piping prevents & solves water problems

Repair -> We repair and patch the holes for the pipes

No major renovation -> we take what has always been a major renovation and make it a minor one

D. Oscar winning writer Aaron Sorkin, "the writer mistake you can make as a writer is telling the audience something they should already know."

I. Take the statements of value, shuffle them, then ask the client, "what info would someone need to know before this, what info would they need to know after this"

II. This will create some organic before and after statements

III. Go through your statements one by one and start to connect them naturally.?Order as many as you can by asking

How can I do that

Why is that important

How does that work

And then what happens

Chapter 7: your core 3 minutes

A. The directors cut

I. A director knows how to use just enough scenes to connect the story and let the audience go in the rest.?

II. Telling a story A to Z didn't require every letter of the alphabet

II. ASK: what knowledge does my audience already possess (Aaron Sorkin)? How will they rationalize their decision?

B. I know it's painful

I. The author condensed a full reel of film and a 25-page ppt presentation to a three minute reel and a seven slide presentation. The executives bought the pitch

II. The author never made a sizzle tape for more than three minutes again after that

B. One more WHAC

1. What is it (50%, nine statements, 1:30, 1 ppt slide)

Your core concept and being able to make the audience understand the fundamental elements

2. How does it work? (30%, seven Statemets, 1:00, 2 ppt slides)

If they understand how you got to your core concept and how it works, you're now more than three quarters of the way there

3. Are you sure? (15%, six statements, :20, 1 ppt slide)

The facts and figures that back up our verify your offering actually make up only a small portion of that buy-in decision.

4. Can you do it? (5%, three statements,?:10, 1 slide)

Depending on the answers above, this question becomes consequential. The network was so in board with the biggest loser, that they went about solving the issues by bringing the authors company in board to produce the show.

C. The fire alarm test

I. Imagine yourself three minutes into your pitch and the fire shark goes off

II. As you're exiting the building, ask yourself:

would the audience want to come back in to hear more

If you didn't go back in, would the audience have enough info to make a decision

If they were to explain the proposal to someone else, what would they say

III. use the 3-minutes impactfully, because there have been plenty of three minute pitches that still felt like an eternity

Chapter 8: the hook

A. What is it

I. It's the one thing or element about an idea or story that makes a person go, "ah, that's cool."

II. It must be tailored to each customer

B. 49ers stadium example

I. Levi's and the 49ers have the same shade of red. That meant every logo and every piece of merchandise sold by the 49ers would contain Levi's red. "The brands were meant to be together" - and that's a major reason why the funding was able to be raised from and why it's called Levi's stadium today

C. Passion vs promotion

I. The more you focus on your desired result for a sale rather than your vision for the more the audience will detect the Desperation, and that could erode everything you worked for.

D. How does it work: two parts

I. The Statemet:

The 49ers stadium is prefect for wrestle mania because it has a system that allows fans to order merchandise and food from their seats

II. What it means:

The WWE will make more money on merchandise because of it

E. It's NOT an elevator pitch!

I. State-and-prove method: traditional and outdated. If you start with a grand statement/conclusion and then try to back it up, you're audience will doubt you (think it's bullshit) and look to disprove it.

F. Focus creates Desire.?Inform and Lead method:

I. If you can capture and maintain your audience's focus, you create and build their desire for your outcome

II. Hollywood screenwriting: leading the audience to the conclusion you want and they want, is good writing

III. The hook is something you almost don't need to say.

IV. Rather than starting with a Statemet like "we can make you more money." Start with a connection between the tech world and selling merchandise, and then Reinforce the audience own thought that they can make money.

Chapter 9: the edge

A. The butt funnel

I. What is the edge that successful bars have: It's a spot in a bar that's too narrow for two people to walk through side by side. If one person is coming one way and another person is coming the other way, they have to turn sideways to pass eachother, touching butts as they go by. Touching butts increases endorphins -> leads to the feeling of having a good time -> leads to increased spending at the bar

B. define the Edge

I. It's the element that cuts through the simplicity of your pitch and reminds your audience that you have something special to offer. It's what pushes the customers decision "over the edge"

C. What's your "butt funnel"?

I. Wrestle mania example:

"People almost use the app as a game. They are informed how busy the bathroom is and then they see how fast they can go and get back to their seats"

II. Re-piping example: "my guys dressed like tourists waking through the hotel lobby, then they'd get to the rooms and put their work clothes on. We re-piped all the hotel rooms without any of the guests even knowing we were there."

III. If the product hasn't been made yet: use a personal story on how you wished you could have Capitalized in a situation, and how much worse that feeling was for you in a particular moment in time

Chapter 10: use your negatives

A. What do you hope the audience doesn't find out?

I. We've been identifying the "good" of the product up to this point. It's been optimistic and enthusiastic - which can be a trap.

II. if your presentation is all positive, your audience will be determined to find the issues and problems with it - all while you're presenting.

B. "What if/ what about" Questions

I. What do you hope your audience doesn't start thinking

II. What conclusion would you want them to stay away from

III. What issues will they think we've overlooked

IV. What's the last thing you want them to ask about

V. If someone says no, what would be their best reason

VI. If you're competitor were here, what would they say about you

VII. If this were a debate, what would the other side be saying

C. Using weakness as a strength

I. Lead by addressing any elephants in the room regarding the idea, rather than give the audience the opportunity to cast it as a complaint

II. Example:

During the pitch: "I'm not sure we can cast this show" response from executives "we always are able to find a cast" - which is a lot better than having the executives say that the show is too difficult to cast

Another: presenter - "I think this show is going to be too silly for the general audience and celebrities to be recruited for" executives- "yes, but I think that's the appeal of it. We have to play into the absurdity of it" ... the executives got the opportunity to solve it, rather than the opportunity to crash the idea

D. "All is lost" moments: two responses

I. You bring up the negative and let your audience solve it

II. You wait until your audience brings up the negative and then you solve it

III. Both parties miss the negative and both parties deal with the consequences

D. Shark Tank

I. Mark cuban: "the money is not important to me, it's the people. If i can find them holding info or trying to avoid telling me something negative, that's not a partner I want."

E. use the value statements as props at the times where you are addressing the negatives.

I. "The company's fiscal policy is costing us in the short term, but they are now ready to move on to the next phase"

Chapter 11: your 3-minute pitch

A. They used "freebird" to show the full pitch-making process from start to finish.

B. The "and then" rule

I. Tell your story sequentially and cleanly, leave the "plot twists" to Quentin Tarantino

C. The telephone test

I. Pitch to somebody and have them pitch it back to you

II. Pitch it to somebody, have them pitch it to somebody, and have the person they pitch it to pitch it back to you.

Chapter 12: opening, callback, and ending

A. Pre-suasion: setting up a scene abs your thoughts before delivering the punch line.

I. Like telling a good joke

II. Also, how up has that famous montage. Or how bambis mom did at the very beginning of the movie

B. **The reason for being**

I. It's the story that tells the audience how you came to be involved with the idea or the proposal

C. Reason for being prompts

I. Why am I excited about this

II. When did I discover the opportunity

III. What happened to make this an opportunity

IV. What was my first thought when I realized how this could work

V. Who opened my eyes to the possibilities

VI. Where did I learn about this

VII. When was the first seed of this idea

VIII. What surprised me when I started looking into this?

D. Answer the reason for being in two parts

I. When you thought it was a good idea

II. When you verified it was a good idea

E. **the Callback**

I. The idea is to repeat your reason for being and verifying it. It connects your pitch to the opportunity you're presenting.

II. This is best used after you have meetings your edge statement in the pitch: (after using the butt funnel example, the presenter says, "you see, this person has a big personality and the knowledge to back it up. He could be seen by some as the Gordon Ramsey of rescuing bars and nightclubs)

E. Putting it together

I. Opening: First, explain the reason you got involved/excited

II. What & How: abd then tell the story of what it is and how it works

III. Are you sure: and then explain how you knew you were on the right path

IV. All is lost: and then talk about your biggest struggles/obstacles

V. Hook: and then explain how you overcame the struggles/obstacles and the result

VI. The edge: and then explain how amazing that feeling is

VII. The callback: and then explain how it was leading you here this whole time

VIII. Can you do it: so now you can share it with others

IX. Ending: then stop talking. There is nothing worse than ending by saying,?"...so, climb on board! Who's with me? :)"

Chapter 13: powerpoint-less

A. Intro

I. PPT is the single biggest killer of presentations ever. They are a menace to society.

II. GOD (through Moses) only needed two tablets of stone and ten bullet points to move his people... why do we try and do more?

B. The 10 PPT Commandments

1. Your handouts are not your presentation slides: never give people things to read during your presentation, because you will be competing with your own material for attention

2. Use animations, transitions, and fonts sparingly: it usually looks like you're trying too hard

3. Slides and bullet points for crucial or key elements only

4. Maximum of six single- sentenced bullet-points per slide

5. Maximum of 10 slides

6. Don't read your slides: what often works better is, pause slightly, turn to the screen, click up the next slide or bullet point, then read it and explain the context. That way, it's used as an attention-grabbing technique, rather than as a crutch

7. A picture is worth 1,000 bullet points

8. Don't be afraid of white space: if you are in a part of the presentation where the side isn't needed,?choose a blank slide or a logo as a placeholder

9. Pace yourself: people tend to speed up when using PPT, rather focus on the opposite

10. People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint (Steve jobs)

C. The dad test

I. Try giving the presentation as if all your material was stolen/lost. This will help determine if the sideshow is necessary

II. Look up:?3minuterule.com/PowerPoint?for an example presentation

Chapter 14: are you putting on red lipstick?

A. Intro

I. The delivery isn't nearly as important as the message itself

B. The pitfalls of passion

I. Passion is a tightrope razor's-edge walk you take on presentations. The more often you use it, the smaller the edge and the harder the fall.?The more excited it passionate you appear, the more the presentation becomes about you, and that takes away from the emphasis on the product.

C. Two danger zones

I. Danger 1: passion turns to promotion. where you make the audience feel that you are more excited about making the "sale" than you are about the information or the opportunity

II. Danger 2: unjustifiable passion. Passion you can't support.

Every once in a while, the author gets a producer who comes in to wildly, passionately pitch such a terrible idea that the author ensures their assistant prevents them from ever getting in their office again.

Trust the information and your three minute pitch will lead your audience to share your opinion,?don't share your opinion as an addition to the presentation because then it makes the presentation about you - and not the product

D. The directors cut

I. Once you have done all the work of gathering and distilling and honing your information into the perfect three minutes,?from post-it notes to Statements of value to finding your edge and your hook, collaborate about your pitch with other people. Ask other people what they think. The haters are often the most helpful.