Perfect Pitch: Tell Me A Story....

Imagine a retirement dinner in which two different guests are toasting the guest of honor. The first toast is given by the chief financial officer of the company. He says, “I always admired the acumen with which Joe managed his 401(k). He optimized his tax advantages to the greatest possible degree, and his account steadily increased in value every fiscal year.” 

There's polite applause, and the financial officer sits down.

Then another colleague of the retiree begins a toast. As soon becomes clear, this is someone who has known the guest of honor for many years. In his toast he describes the game in which his best buddy scored the only two points of his rather undistinguished basketball career. 

He says, "With seconds left in the game, he had the ball and an open path to the basket. But just then something really strange happened. He started to fall down, which was odd because there was nobody anywhere near him. It was as if he tripped over his own shoelace or something. In any case, he had to get rid of the ball before he hit the hardwood floor, so he just chucked it – and that was how he got his nickname -- which, as all of you know, is SWISH.”

Both these men discussed the same topic: their friend. But they approached the topic in completely different ways. The first toast deals with a topic that’s very difficult to visualize or dramatize. 

The second toast paints a picture of a specific incident, endows it with humor and drama, and then connects it to the present as the origin of the nickname. We learn something about the man who’s retiring, but we also hear a story that’s vivid in its own right. In other words, more than one thing is going on. 

In any high impact oral presentation – whether it’s a toast at a small retirement dinner, an address to a large meeting of corporate shareholders, or simply interacting with an important client -- there are certain elements that absolutely need to be present. 

First, you need to clearly communicate the information or message of your talk. You need to get your facts and figures across. You need to have a theme or a thesis, and it has to be presented clearly and convincingly. If you're speaking in public, this is why you are standing up there in the first place – yet in terms of the impact you will make, it's probably the least important part of your speech. Or, to put it another way, nobody will remember this aspect of your talk unless the other elements are at a home run level. Your information is very important, but information without impact disappears very quickly from people’s minds. 

People, not surprisingly, want to hear stories or anecdotes about people. That can mean stories about yourself, or about someone else. Listeners wants to hear stories, and even need to hear stories. So if all you’re doing is giving them information, you’re not fulfilling one of your basic tasks.

What kinds of stories should you tell? The answer to that depends on your levels of confidence and ability. Ideally, however, every presentation a complete emotional and intellectual experience. That means the audience both thinks and feels – and with regard to feeling, the audience both laughs and cries. 

Think about some of the best speakers you’ve ever heard. How did you feel at the end of their talks? I suspect you felt as if you’d traversed a full range of your emotions, all the way from laughter to tears. This is what a really good presenter is able to do, and effective use of stories is a key tool for creating a full range of experiences for the listener.

 

Perfect Pitch: Keep Talking!

When a new product or service is introduced into the marketplace, people don’t buy it just because it has suddenly appeared. Research shows that consumers need at least nine exposures to a new product – whether on billboards, or in TV spots, or in print ads – before they even notice that the product exists. It’s the same way with making a new business acquaintance. Clients aren’t eager to sign on with someone they’ve just met, possibly at the risk of a significant amount of money. This is perfectly understandable and reasonable.

But once a certain amount of familiarity is established, several things begin to happen. The name and the visual image of a product become remembered – just as the connection with a business contact becomes reinforced as more meetings occur.

As it turns out, something very similar happens even in a one-on-one conversation, and most definitely in an oral presentation. The first time you introduce an idea, especially if it’s not phrased in some sort of catchy way, it will probably go right by your listeners – “in one ear and out the other.” But if you keep saying it, and if you do so in a novel or interesting way, people will not only remember it – they’ll also begin to anticipate it.

But that’s not all. The amazing thing is, they’ll also begin to accept it as true. It’s a strange fact of human nature that repetition itself has persuasive power. Simply by presenting the same information several times you can increase the intensity and the persuasiveness of your message. Just by engaging in multiple conversations with a potential client, you increase the chances of a successful business relationship.

"It is not by advancing a truth once or twice, or even ten times, that the people will adopt it," said Franklin Roosevelt. "Incessant repetition is required to impress political truths upon the public mind. By always hearing the same facts, people gradually give them a place in the corner of their minds. Soon they would no more think of doubting it than they would doubt their religious or patriotic beliefs.”

An earlier President, Woodrow Wilson, made the same point in a different way. Once, as a boy, Wilson asked his mother why she had repeated the same fact to him 20 times. She replied, “Because you haven’t learned it after nineteen.”

One word of caution about using the tool of repetition: unless you have a very novel way of saying the same thing over and over, your repetition could become tedious. If your point can be made in just a few words, you might want to create a simple rhyme. Recall attorney Johnny Cochran’s very effective couplet about OJ Simpson’s glove: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” You can also repeat a single idea in more expanded forms, provided you have the vocabulary to do this in a graceful and interesting manner.

In the same way, try to bring some fresh energy to business conversations, especially when you’re in the process of reeling in a new client. From your vantage point, you’ll be able to tell if this is working or not. If a client is staring into your eyes and hanging on your every word, then it’s working. If clients are sneaking glances at their watches, it’s not!

A Kick in the Career: Santa's Workshop

As an executive recruiter I’m always on the lookout for unique and challenging opportunities for my clients.  When this listing came across my desk, I perked up. If anyone out there is interested please contact me via the Stern Executive Search website.

POSITION: Toy Shop Elf

LOCATION: North Pole

EMPLOYER: Santa Claus

REQUIREMENTS: Must have at least three years’ sweatshop experience. Familiarity with mind-numbing assembly line work for criminally low wages is a plus. Those with the ability to take orders from a well-meaning but abrasive megalomaniac will be given extra consideration. Interpersonal skills and ability to think inside the gift box strongly encouraged. Ability to distinguish almost undetectable differences between nine different reindeer is appreciated. Must supply your own tights.

JOB DESCRIPTION: Santa’s Workshop, a world leader in the manufacturing of amusements for good girls and boys, is hiring an elf, to start immediately.  Duties include:

·        Assembly and product testing of wooden race cars, teddy bears, custom dollhouses, air rifles and PlayStation consoles. (Note: Since the late 20^th Century, it’s mostly PlayStation consoles.)

·        Singing inspirational work songs all day

·        Sleigh loading

·        Removal of reindeer waste (non-negotiable)

Qualified candidates should have no qualms about joining a cult of personality centered on Saint Nicholas, a world famous symbol of buying the affection of loved ones for hundreds of years. Your employer will demand much of you as a part-time, non-union staff member. However, he also works hard, delivering approximately 6 billion toys to the entire world via chimney in less than 11 hours. In other words: no complainers! Finally, Mr. Claus is prone to possessive jealousy, so there is to be absolutely no fraternizing with Mrs. Claus. (On the off chance that fraternizing with a rather unappealing hausfrau would ever cross your mind in the first place.)

SALARY: The satisfaction of bringing joy to the world’s children.

BENEFITS: The satisfaction of bringing joy to the world’s children.

QUALIFICATIONS: Elementary school graduates preferred and/or certificate of completion from an accredited Mall Santa Claus Academy.  Oh, and a desire to experience the satisfaction of bringing joy to the world’s children.

Applications should be sent to:

Santa’s Workshop, LLC

201 Materialism Way

North Pole

I can’t wait to place my most qualified candidates into this once-in-a-lifetime position! And if you aren’t hired, don’t be surprised if you find coal in your curriculum vitae.