“The pressure is intense. I must give the best pitch of my life,” my new client, Amelia, said.

Before I replied, I realized one crucial thing: Amelia needed a structure so that she would ensure her improvements in elements of making a compelling pitch.

During our resulting conversation, I shared with her: “Here’s something vital: You need to lead yourself in certain prime areas.” (I sometimes refer to this as the most important secret for giving a great pitch.)

I invite you to focus on leading yourself to:

• Rehearse
• Get coaching
• Test the material

1. Rehearse

In many cases, a 9-minute rehearsal early in the day will help you improve rapidly. Why? Your subconscious mind will work on the material all day long. Also, take advantage of 2-minute rehearsals. Try bits of humor or compelling examples as you have conversations with friends or colleagues during the day.

You can ask a friend: “Are you okay with my rehearsing the open 2 minutes of my pitch?”

Often, you’ll hear: “Sure.”

2. Get coaching

No Olympic athlete works without a coach. I can relate to this in that I’m the Executive Coach to a sports psychologist who has supported over 100 Olympians.

When I speak of “lead yourself”, I mean that you look for the coaching you need, you show up for the sessions, and you do the rehearsals between sessions.

I have a team of people who coach me. They can see what I don’t see. They’re on my side and they challenge me to rise to higher levels of fulling my potential.

Be sure to gather a circle of supporters for you own professional growth.

3. Test the material

Here I’ll talk about two dimensions of testing your material.

Level One of Testing is getting input from people you trust. Work with your Pitch Coach. Also, try your material on people who share characteristics of your likely audience for your pitch or speech.

In my new book Shape the Future, Lead Like a Pro, I show you how to get valuable input from team members. It’s vital that you listen to the input in a way that encourages people to alert you to the “whole picture.” In my book, I share these facets: “What Works” and “Areas to Improve.”

Start with “What Works” – that puts you and the reviewer in a good space. Then ask for “Areas to Improve.” Assure the person that they can be candid. Sometimes, I say, “I’ve hired over nine editors, so I welcome the tough news. It helps me improve.”

Level Two of Testing is to notice what feels right flowing from your own mouth. This relates to the art and science of public speaking.

As you rehearse and test material, you’ll discover what phrases work for you naturally. This helps you communicate in ways that inspire the audience to deem you as genuine and trustworthy.

In summary, focus on these areas:

• Rehearse
• Get coaching
• Test the material

Be sure to lead yourself to get the guidance/coaching you need. Additionally, put in the required rehearsal to bring your pitch or speech to a high level of professionalism.

Leading yourself to prepare helps you communicate so powerfully that you gain the funding you need.

Warmly,
Tom

Tom Marcoux
Spoken Word Strategist – Executive Coach
Speaker-Author, 45 books so far 🙂
CEO

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PitchPowerFest.com * GetTheBigYes.com

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Soar with Confidence: An Executive Coach Reveals Secrets, Lies and Countermeasures So You Excel Like Top CEOs and Leaders – Pitch, Lead, Succeed

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

Darkest Secrets of Making a PITCH for Film and Television: How You Can Get a Studio Executive, Producer, Name Actor or Private Investor to Say “Yes” to Your Project

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

Darkest Secrets of Persuasion and Seduction Masters: How to Protect Yourself and Turn the Power to Good

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

Secrets of Awesome Dinner Guests: What Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., Helen Keller, and John Lasseter Can Teach You About Success … (The Power of Your Personal Brand)

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 Confidence

Would 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

Darkest Secrets of Charisma: Overcome the Lies about Personal Magnetism, Get People to Feel Your Charisma and Influence Others with Your Words

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

Shape the Future, Lead Like a Pro: 3 Skills Every Great Leader Needs to Succeed

This book will empower you with the 3 Skills every Great Leader needs to succeed: Relate, Optimize and Intuit. Learn to excel as a RoiLeader. The Bottom-line: You need an “unfair advantage” of top communication skills. Use Expansive Thinking to handle Disruption and get out ahead of it. “Shape the Future, Lead Like a Pro empowers you with essential leadership skills. Integrity is the foundation of Authentic Leadership. This book helps you lead and retain people who appreciate true leadership and who will excel for your organization.” – Christopher Salem, Host of Sustainable Success Radio Show