“I think I have the text of my pitch fully memorized,” my new client, Alana, said.

“And?” I asked, seeing something in her facial expression.

“I’m still nervous!” she said.

“It’s understandable,” I began. Then, in an extended conversation, I introduced her to my term “Extreme Confidence.”

Extreme Confidence includes two things:

• You KNOW that you know how to adapt to anything comes up during your pitch
• You effectively control the “space” between you and the audience members.

When I refer to the “space” between you and audience members, I’m talking about whether you’re connected or separate from the individuals in your audience.

When you develop the skills of Extreme Confidence, you quiet down fear and nervousness.

Develop The Skill to Get More Time to Think

An investor asks a really tough question while you’re pitching to a group. You can say, “I need to pause for a moment. I want my response to be valuable to you.” You just gave yourself some time to think. Even while you say the above sample comment, your brain is thinking at 700 words a minute. You might even come with the answer just as you finish with “…valuable to you.”

Give Yourself “Room to Experiment”

Recently, I was asked about how to include a case study when one is talking to a prospective client.

I replied, “I’ll brainstorm here. You might try this: ‘I helped Joe upgrade his website, and he went from 10 new e-list subscribers per month to 1,237 new e-list subscribers per month. The rate of new clients he gained went from 1 per month to 4 per month—with a long-term value of each client as $6,000. So that was a net gain of …”

When I said, “I’ll brainstorm here,” I gave myself the room to experiment. After I said the above details, I might have come up with a better idea. Then, I could have continued with: “As I was sharing the details I just gave you, I had an another idea. This might even be better …”

 

The Golden Key: Rehearsing With Experimenting

There is a Paradox of a Good Pitch: Use a script for Selected Phrases and have space for improvising.

You need both.

How do you come up with the Effective Selected Phrases? You do rehearsing with experimenting.

I’ll give you an example. Recently, I went to a conference that included a number of life coaches, healers and others. I experimented with ways to start a conversation. Some ways worked better than others. Then I started saying, “How do you help people?” My tone was warm, and my approach was friendly curiosity. That worked well.

I also experimented with ways to respond to the question: “What do you do?”

After a number versions, and while I watched the faces of my conversation partners, I landed on this:

“I help people fulfill big dreams. Primarily, I help business owners and executives speak so powerfully that they get a lot of YES’s.”

As I said the above, I gestured with my hands as if a bunch of YES’s, like gifts, came toward my heart.

In terms of developing your pitch, practice in front of a number of “test audiences.”

*  *  *

In summary, realize that rehearsing with experimenting is an important of developing your best pitch to gain funding. Consider working with a coach so you pick the best details and Effective Selected Phrases.

Vital News: Attend Tom Marcoux’s workshop “Pitch with Extreme Confidence: The Pitch Hacking Method” on April 20, 2017.  You will learn to:

· Experience Real Confidence
· Seize the Investors’ Attention
· Answer Tough Questions with Poise
· Let Go of Fear and Nervousness
· Use Confident Body Language
· Handle Tough Moments (even if your mind goes blank)

Click here to register – early bird fee of $10.00 https://www.meetup.com/Igniter/events/237843482/