If we were to tell you there was an identifiable pattern in most professional communication- e-mail, presentations, meetings, elevator pitches- what might you say it was? Wording, style, approach? The answer may surprise you in its simplicity.

Begin human, end human. Call to action. It’s critical to remember we are still human beings functioning in a business realm. So while a perfect presentation perfectly delivered is an ideal, being natural and human is just as, if not MORE, important to your audience. Every e-mail, presentation, meeting, AND, elevator pitch should begin and end with some kind of personal or human element. Picture the meeting that begins in the following manner:

(All attendees have arrived)

“On today’s agenda we have 5 major points to cover. Last we met, there were several areas that still needed a substantial amount of work…First we’re going to….Then…”

Versus

“How’s everyone today? I know- we’re all crunched and this meeting is cutting in, so I promise to cover as much as possible in a short amount of time. If everyone’s here, let’s jump right in. There are 5 points to go over, and…”

Check in with people to see where they’re at. Be mindful of the context you’re operating in (i.e. the meeting is cutting into crunch time this week) and mold your communication around it. Being a respectful and human communicator is more powerful than having the perfect wording or formula for a speaking engagement.

So this brings us to the elevator pitches 2 and 3 of the last blog post and to a call to action. Of course, we are missing any context, but let’s imagine for a moment that these conversations did not happen in a vacuum, that some preceding events did occur affecting both the speaker and the listener. Let’s adapt accordingly.

“Paul, great presentation back there. You mentioned your sales force was a critical arm in the profits of your firm. Would you be able to tell me what sales were in the last quarter? I’m John Roberts, VP of Sales with Kesure Inc. We deliver high-impact sales training to midsized companies highly dependent on successful sales teams, such as your own. We helped companies raise sales an average of 20% quarterly following training programs last year alone. Our training specializes in the proven methods of the Xerta system, pointing to direct returns on investment for our clients and setting us apart from other sales training providers. Does this sound like something you and your firm could benefit from?”

John began warmly and personably addressing “Paul” by name. One’s own name is often the sweetest sound to the ear! He also molded the pitch around Paul’s perceived need so it came off as more personal and real, less crafted and rehearsed. Finally, he ended with a question putting Paul into a position to answer. This same approach could have been applied to pitch 3. Are you doing this when you pitch, or are you expecting the pitch itself to do all the work?

Remember to begin human, end human, and call your audience to some form of commitment—even if just their listening ears for the moment.

Finally, to our readers, tell us what you were hoping to hear. This blog is not just for loafers—we want to answer your questions. So if you’re visiting and reading, comment or question. This blog is for you, our community of readers. Thanks for visiting.

Hello Springboards community! If you were following us last week, you’re probably here looking for either a well or poorly constructed pitch followed by some critiques and suggestions. Instead, we’d like to challenge you, our readers, to examine the following pitches and to decide on the intended audience.

1. Hi, I’m Richard Cheng. I’ve been working as a corporate communications specialist for the past 5 years. My undergrad studies focused primarily on business communication and led me into various roles within public relations (PR), journalism, and even teaching English abroad. Recently, I’ve been working more with the entrepreneurial community on a few pet projects which have been very successful. I know I can be an incredible asset to a start up PR firm looking to broaden their visibility locally and through various media.
2. Hi. John Roberts, VP of Sales with Kesure Inc. We deliver high-impact sales training to midsized companies highly dependent on successful sales teams. Kesure helped companies raise sales an average of 20% quarterly following training programs last year alone. Our training specializes in the proven methods of the Xerta system, pointing to direct returns on investment for our clients and setting us apart from other sales training providers.
3. VSC is a one-stop shop IT consulting firm focused on the growing sustainable and green energies sector. Shareholder and stock values in the green sector have seen steady to critical growth and now even more so than ever. Our clients are progressive and highly dependent upon a strong, secure and robust IT infrastructure to ensure the smoothest running of the business. VSC has seen a 400% growth rate in just 3 years of business and expects to add to payroll, even in a down economy. As president and founder, I have 30 years technical and managerial experience at Microsoft, Sun, and Oracle as well as a proven track record in fundraising activities for a self-started non-profit, “Green and Clean- an Urban Renewal Project.” I’m George Xiao, and the question is, if going green means going green financially, where are you in this opportunity?

One of our “pitchers” is selling:  (a) him or herself to recruiters or would-be employers;  (b) to venture capitalists (VCs) or potential financiers of the business;  (c) to potential clients or referral relationships. Let’s start with pitch 1.

Yes, Richard Cheng is pitching himself to (a) recruiters or would-be employers. Clearly, he is focusing on his personal experience and what he’s currently involved in as a professional in order to appeal to a well-matched suitor. One thing, and one very critical element, his pitch lacked was a hook or a call-to-action at the end. Thank you, Richard, for telling us about yourself—now what do you want us to do about it? Who are you trying to meet? Who’s the go-to person? Are you willing to end with a compelling question? “I’m Richard Cheng. Do you know of any one, your own company perhaps, who is looking for an accomplished business savvy PR guy with 5 plus years experience?” You have now forced the listener in a position to respond.

If you guessed that pitch 2 is well-matched with (c) potential clients, you are right. Then you are also correct that pitch 3 is to potential VC’s. There are actually many areas that need attention in both of these pitches. But blog territory has entered “too long.” So at the fear of not customizing our blog articles to be well-matched with our audience, i.e., busy international executives such as yourselves, we’re going to stop here. If you want to know why we think pitches 2 and 3 need help, you’ll have to stay tuned for the next post. This is, after all, such a relevant area for us all and in much need of continual refinement. Agreed?

Be part of the discussion! We welcome your comments.