The Persuasive Pitch Formula: A CEO's Guide to Winning Hearts & Minds
Quy Langridge-Tien ?
helping busy Leaders inspire clients, deals and talent (Personal Brand Strategy | Content | Outreach done for you)
A pitch is where you promote your personal or company brand in person, to one or to many: on stage, in an interview, in a meeting.
Your time has come.
The host finishes their précis of your path to CEO and the company's exploits.
The spotlights are bright as you confidently step up to the mic.
"You know, only three weeks ago..."
A few minutes later the filled room erupts in laughter as your tale of a recent mishap climaxes. Pausing only to let them catch their breath, you smoothly segue into why you're here.
This is where they're at. You hear them. You understand.
And this is how your solution works for them.
Closing with another emotive story to bring the narrative arc full circle, you step down to rapturous applause; most of the audience are already Googling you.
As the cool kids say, you crushed it.
The recording goes on Youtube and becomes the most viewed episode on the organiser's page.
Within a week, you've had a dozen partnership enquiries, 3 podcast invitations and a request to interview for Business Insider.
By month-end it's clear this quarter will break records - the uplift credited to the promo code you gave in the presentation.
Your team link to the video from the company blog, and split it into several shorts for social media.
The best soundbites become LinkedIn posts and tweets.
The effects will be felt for months if not years.
Did this happen by chance? No more so than when you deliver on EBITDA each year.
Here's how...
Nowhere is the *potential* power of a CEO brand so obvious as with a pitch.
Your position grants instant respect, a foot in the doorway to attention.
However, this is only a headstart.
If you squander it by being unprepared:
the audience will be browsing their phones before your intro is done.
Or your interviewer's already thinking of what's for dinner.
They nod vacantly as you awkwardly improvise, trying to recall a statistic from last month, a hot flush rising in your cheeks.
That's not all.
It's one thing to avoid bombing.
To be unforgettable, you need to connect emotionally .
"Fail to prepare, prepare to fail."
- Benjamin Franklin
The Persuasive Pitch Formula (PPF)
The PPF is the framework for pitching in a 7P Personal Brand Plan :
With live events, nothing can guarantee all goes well on the day.
But by following the PPF, you load the dice so far in your favour that Lady Luck cries foul play.
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
- Seneca
the Persuasive Pitch Formula
If you'd like steps 1-7 done for you and/or personal consulting for 8-12,
Or for the complete blueprint to personal brand development for CEOs, please see here .
1. Elevator vs Scheduled
There are two types of pitches:
Elevator Pitches
Elevator pitches (social pitches) are short.
There often isn't even time for a story.
Every sentence is loaded with value.
You can/should memorise them.
You rarely know exactly when the opportunity will arise:
This means they need to always be 100% ready to go.
Scheduled Pitches
You're invited to speak.
That means time to prepare.
It shouldn't mean waiting until you're invited, to prepare.
By mastering the essentials now, not least your Stories, you're 85% ready when an invitation comes.
The bigger the occasion, the more your confidence and peace of mind benefit.
Rest assured that your performance will be 10x more assured and effective than if you'd started from a base of zero when the invite came.
2. Audience & Objectives
A CEO has 4 distinct audiences:
Whilst there should be a common thread to all your comms, individual pitches are crafted for individual audiences.
Have a single avatar to mind when you write and rehearse - it often helps to have a picture in view as you do so.
Speak to your avatar as if you're the only two people in the room.
"When you speak to everyone, you speak to no-one."
- Seth Godin
Objectives
Be clear on:
In other words, start with the end point in mind.
Vision vs Strategy vs Position
Concept and image by April Dunford
Different audiences = different priorities
3. Effective Stories
Stories are the single most potent tool in your communications repertoire.
Have several stories prepared:
Robbie Crabtree , founder of Competitive Storytelling
Examples of Big Frame stories
4. The Beginning
The opening seconds of your pitch determine whether your audience sit up and engage, or start to check their social media feeds.
5 Ways to Start
You can also use any combination of these.
Whichever you choose, it should lead naturally on to the Middle of your pitch.
Don't Improvise
Remain on strategy. There will be time to take questions or riff in the Middle or the End of your pitch.
Promise / Signposting
"Tell the audience what you're going to say, say it; then tell them what you've said."
- Dale Carnegie
This divides many 'experts' on public speaking.
Its critics usually interpret it to mean:
"Say something to your audience, say it a second time, then say it again."
That certainly has a high chance of losing your audience.
But what Dale Carnegie meant is more subtle:
Frame your topic in terms of the audience's need, then tell them how you're going to solve that problem.
People are inherently selfish.
They want to know "What's in it for me?"
Answer this as soon as possible and you'll have them hooked for the remainder of your talk.
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5. The Middle
This is where you develop the reason for your presence today.
Depending on the audience and objectives, there are many ways of structuring the Middle, but a proven route is to use a story to frame the answer to 4 questions:
Don't inform, transform.
Your audience can get the finer detail from your website or where you direct them to go after the pitch.
The Middle should take the audience on a journey of positive transformation that they can identify with.
6. The End
It seems obvious to end on a call-to-action (CTA).
Don't.
By all means, conclude the Middle with a CTA, but the Pitch itself should end on an emotional note. This is often but not always a story.
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
- Maya Angelou
End on a high, they'll never forget you.
7. Tactics
These are just some of the most effective tactics to choose from.
Take your pick but don't overuse any of them...
Alliteration
The repetition of initial consonant sounds in closely positioned words adds rhythm, musicality, and emphasis.
Antithesis
Antithesis contrasts two opposing ideas in a parallel structure, emphasising the difference between them.
Martin Luther King used this masterfully to highlight the disparity between the reality of the time and his vision for the future:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Because…
This is an incredibly powerful framing word.
Anything preceding it is given weight, because you gave a reason.
In the famous "Copy Machine Study," by psychologist Ellen Langer, researchers approached individuals using a Xerox machine and made one of three requests:
When a reason was given (even if it was a redundant reason like "because I have to make copies"), compliance rates were significantly higher compared to when no reason was provided.
Metaphors
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word / phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
They're used extensively in literature and poetry because they offer a vivid and imaginative way to express ideas and emotions.
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts..."
- Shakespeare
Rule of 3
Ideas, events, or characters presented in threes are inherently more interesting, engaging, and memorable than other number groupings.
Stories - and pitches - are usually best structured in 3 parts.
Similarly, your phrases and sentences should be grouped in 3's for maximum impact:
The simple truth is…
Phrases like "the simple truth is..." introduce what you say next as self-evident or undeniably true, grounded in common sense or universal wisdom.
8. Delivery
Slides
Your slide deck should exactly adhere to the brand identity in your Plan.
Avoid fancy animations or transitions - these can easily go wrong on the day, especially if presenting on someone else's equipment.
Pacing
The speed at which you speak and the strategic use of pauses—can significantly affect how your message is received and processed
Think of your speech as a piece of music that has its own rhythm, highs and lows. Pacing makes it more memorable and engaging.
Body language
Body language significantly impacts how the audience perceives you and your message:
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Filler words
Filler words ("um," "ah," "like," "you know," etc.) affect your credibility and the effectiveness of your pitch.
Minimising their use is crucial for maintaining credibility, ensuring clarity, and delivering a powerful message.
Great Speakers to Learn From
9. Rehearsal
Alex Hormozi rehearsed his book launch 3 times a day for 30 days = 90 times in total.
Steve Jobs was well-known for extensively practicing his presentations. He would rehearse every aspect, from the flow of the content to the timing of slides and product reveals.
He worked closely with his team to refine every detail, ensuring that each element of the presentation was as polished as their software.
Is it a coincidence that two of the greatest business speakers of all time put so much work into their legendary performances?
Experiment with different paces and pauses during your practice sessions.
Record yourself to identify what works best for different parts of your speech.
This helps in creating a dynamic delivery that can adapt to the content and mood of your speech, as well as the live feedback from your audience.
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10. Warming Up
No professional athlete starts a game or race without warming up.
No professional musician steps onto stage without warming up.
A pitch is professional speaking, and the importance of warming up your vocal chords and getting in the right frame of mind cannot be overstated.
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11. Being Prepared
If the Persuasive Pitch Formula is about being prepared from a strategic and content perspective, step #11 homes in on readiness at a practical level.
It's an area CEOs - and senior executives in general - often neglect.
Accidents don't care about your status as the guest of honour.
Backup of slides
Having shared your slide deck with the event organiser, have a copy in the cloud where you and your team can get to it easily, and also on a USB stick.
Check equipment
Show up early and verify for yourself (or via a Trusted Deputy) that everything works.
Spare shirt
Even if you're not having a meal just before...
Use the bathroom before
Your attention should be on the audience, not your bladder.
Mints / chewing gum / mouthwash
Particularly if you smoke or drink coffee.
You don't want the people you're sharing a stage or being interviewed by to be put off by your oral hygiene.
Don't assume you won't be offensive - make sure of it.
12. An Iterative Process
What do Kevin Hart, Dave Chapelle and Jimmy Carr have in common?
All 3 are world class comedians with decades of experience.
You'd think they had a good instinct for what's funny.
Yet all 3 will spend up to a year roadtesting a new routine in the smaller clubs before taking it to a big stage or a recording... paying careful attention to the jokes that bring the house down, and the ones that fall flat.
Your pitch is not set in stone:
The 7P's of effective personal branding
- Position
- Plan
- Pitch ?
- Profile
- Publish
- Product
- Partners
?? Your Pitch conveys your Position, tailored to the audience.
?? The Plan ensures tone of voice and slides are in pixel perfect alignment with all comms.
?? When the audience Googles you - if not before then certainly after - they’ll find Published content and Profile to reinforce your winning performance.
?? Some will enter your Product ecosystem.
?? Others become Partners (further benefitting Publish, Profile and Product).
Pitch is both outcome and catalyst in the flywheel of personal brand growth.
Helping brands become visible | Fractional CMO | Former Inc. Magazine Columnist | Celeb Interviews: Mark Cuban & Marcus Lemonis
8 个月Exquisite storytelling! Captivating from start to finish.