“What makes the difference between a pitch that lands and one that bounces off the audience?” my friend Stephen asked.
“Energy,” I replied.
“Are you talking about coming across as enthusiastic?” he asked.
Personal energy is not just about putting on the big smile and speaking with vigor and passion. Some people try faking a smile, and it comes across as phony.
I dislike that old cliché “fake it until you make it.”
A lot of people feel, subconsciously, that something is off when someone puts on a “fake enthusiasm” mask for their pitch or speech.
Instead, I focus on Act It Until You Become It. That arises from my training as both actor and feature film director. To act it requires a good form of energy. You feel confident of your material, your efforts in rehearsals and the coaching you’ve received.
Still, there is an additional level to having effective personal energy: You need to guard your energy.
From what? From manipulation striking you in your regular life.
In my 40’s, I was in a particular auditorium watching as my friends were being manipulated by certain tactics, a speaker was using. I got angry. Soon after, in a university professors’ lounge, I sat down with my laptop and wrote 2,000 words—in a sprint. (My rapid writing flowed out just before I gave a scheduled graduate level class in San Francisco.)
Those 2,000 words were the first of what became a book, Darkest Secrets of Persuasion and Seduction Master: How to Protect Yourself and Turn the Power to Good. [Click Here to ‘Look Inside’ this book.]
I’ll put this in a few words:
If you don’t protect yourself from manipulation in your regular life, you won’t have the reserves to be at your best when you’re on stage pitching.
Why? Because on some level, you’ll be drained and distracted.
Your pitch or speech is too important for you to leave to chance or the storms of life—including manipulation that arises from various sides.
Here I’ll provide some useful tips as the W.I.N. process:
1. Work on your weak points
Where are you weak? Do you get easy to manipulated if someone says, ‘Don’t miss out! The price goes up at 12 midnight’? Be sure to have people you trust who you can turn to—to protect you from making a bad decision.
2. Identify your countermeasures
Have a plan. Rehearse how you will counter extreme demands on your time or attention. Work with a coach or therapist—or both. (They provide different forms of support. I have clients who also have a therapist. I’m the Spoken Word Strategist and Executive Coach. Therapy is not my domain.)
3. Nurture your strength
Do you exercise every day? Imagine if you did. You’d feel stronger. We need strength in both body and mind. Study methods that will have you prepared.
A friend recently asked me, “Tom, why did you read 82 books last year?”
“My clients and my team rely on me to have a nimble mind filled with valuable, strategic methods,” I replied. “I keep up with research about how people actually operate. That’s how I can be a valued thinking partner and Executive Coach to my clients.”
In summary, get clear that you need to guard your personal energy against assailants trying to use manipulation in your regular life. Why? You need reserves of personal energy to act at your best in rehearsals and on stage for your pitch or speech.
Remember:
W – work on your weak points
I – identify your countermeasures
N – nurture your strength
Warmly,
Tom
Tom Marcoux
Spoken Word Strategist – Executive Coach
Speaker-Author, 44 books so far 🙂
CEO
PitchPowerFest.com * GetTheBigYes.com
Get the Advantages to take your business to a higher level. Learn Leadership Advantages, Pitch Advantages, and Success Advantages. To Soar with Confidence, you learn and use principles for top level communication to board members, team members and the media.
“Marcoux demonstrates how to “Prepare a Compelling Story that Moves Emotions.” He mentions techniques that he teaches clients for developing compelling Ted Talks.” – Dantalion Jones
Learn the vital skills of pitching your ideas and enrolling others into your vision. Get that “Big Yes” to funding your project. “This insightful book shows you how to zing a curveball right past the parts of the Hollywood exec’s brain that want to say no before you even make your pitch. You will learn what works when pitching, and more importantly, why, so you can get to YES much more often. Buy this book now. Consider it Spring Training before the big game.” – Danek Kaus
This invaluable guide, used by people in 15 countries and now in its second edition, will help you become immune to dark persuasion. Learn to use countermeasures to defend yourself against unethical persuasion and seduction tactics. Break any trance in which a salesperson is trying to get you to buy something not to your benefit. “Learn how to defend yourself against manipulation. Best book you’ll ever read to protect yourself, feel strong and move forward in your life. Highly recommended!” – Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter
Imagine dining with Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., Helen Keller, and John Lasseter. These seven people share one thing: They’re great communicators. So this book will help you become a great communicator. “Marcoux especially stresses the importance of personal branding, of coming across as trustworthy and dependable.” – Einar Masson
What the Rich Don’t Say about Getting Rich: Work Smarter, Live Better
You want wealth, abundance and enjoyment–yes? Wouldn’t it be great to learn the real strategies that the Rich use to create Sustainable Wealth? This book takes you behind-the-scenes to what really works. You’ll see a lot of myth-busting, and you’ll learn the strategies that get real results. “Tom Marcoux gives you an inside look on the psychology of what it takes to be successfully wealthy in life. It’s more than just taking advantage of opportunity, but also about taking care of yourself. This book discusses a number of strategies that we often overlook when it comes to leading a successful life that leads to wealth generation.” – Barry Adamson II
Amazing You: Enjoy the Power to Get It Done, Get Stronger, Get Credit for It … featuring Secrets of Extreme ConfidenceWould you like to Amaze yourself? This book helps you Get Stronger so you can Get It Done! You’ll learn how you can Get Credit for It! All three elements are crucial so you rise to a higher level of success and happiness. Think about it. If you get it done, but you’re a physical wreck—you lose. If you get things done, but you don’t Get Credit for It—you cannot get new clients. And, you’ll lose your current clients—if they don’t know, in their gut, how their lives are better because you’ve brought them significant benefits. Here’s a secret: You can unleash the Amazing You! Executive Coach Tom Marcoux helps you develop Extreme Confidence. “Tom Marcoux, once again, has written a book filled with practical insights and veteran business expertise that allows individuals to acquire the tools to balance personal and professional life. Tom’s wisdom possesses depth and the experience of someone who has ‘walked the walk.'” – Dr. Arthur Ciaramicoli
Learn how you can tap into your natural gifts and tendencies to radiate Three Types of Charisma. Discover how to influence people with your words. “Marcoux explodes this myth: Charismatic people always feel comfortable before and during an important event, such as public speaking, networking or some other social event. This book shows how you can feel discomfort but still come across as confident and charismatic.The secrets include ways to radiate all three forms of charisma Marcoux describes as Warm Trust Charisma, Natural Charm Charisma and Magnetic Charisma.” – Danek Kaus
PitchPowerFest.com 