Book review: Pitch anything
Public speaking makes me really nervous. I’m glad my livelihood doesn’t depend on pitching, but it’s one of those skills that’s good to have in your pocket. As I progress in my career as a UX writer, there’s more expectation for me to lead conversations and influence people. And to do so, I need to be able to present my ideas effectively and have people receive it well.
So when one of my good friends mentioned that Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff was one of the best books she’s read that helped her as a creative director, I decided to pick it up too. Learnings and takeaways aside, this book was a really enjoyable read. The language was direct, engaging, and approachable because there were lots of fun and memorable anecdotes. While this book teaches some theories, the author arrived at the theories through his own work experiences. Reading the book felt like learning through storytelling, which is infinitely more interesting than reading a collection of case studies with and bullet point summaries.
Always keep your pitches fun with a bit of light humour (and a touch of drama)
One good story is the one where the author, Oren, took the apple that a hedge fund manager was eating during a pitch. Oren was trying to pitch a deal to the hedge fund manager, Bill, and his associates. But from the start of the meeting, they hardly paid any attention to Oren. To try and change that, Oren asked Bill if he could take the apple that he was already munching on. Oren cut the apple in half to illustrate that he’d like the deal to be equal. There was silence in the room when he did that. But Oren had their attention for the next 20 minutes, and a hearty laugh from Bill after he finished the pitch.
Oren used this anecdote to explain a few theories. No matter how intimidating the person you’re pitching to might be, you can always use light humour to disrupt the situation. After creating a mildly shocking but not offensive scenario, you have people’s attention. You can then quickly move on to the crux of the pitch and show them why they should listen to what you’re saying.
Basic theories
Oren starts the book off by explaining that because of the way our brain has developed to receive messages, we can’t present complicated ideas to people and expect them to be interested right away.
While we use our highly evolved neocortex to formulate the pitch, it’s the audience’s more primitive crocodile brain that will interpret the pitch.
The book is about using a “STRONG” formula to win the audience over. This is how to get your big idea from their simpler crocodile brain up to their smarter neocortex:
Set the frame: own the power dynamic, seize situational status, and control the agenda
Tell the story: place the big idea into a context that’s easily understood
Reveal the intrigue: use a relatable human story to get the audience emotionally invested
Offer the prize: tell the audience what they can benefit from working with you
Nail the hookpoint: Make the audience want you before they know all the details
Get the deal
How to structure your pitch
Apparently, when molecular biologists introduced their discovery of the double-helix DNA structure to the world, their presentation was done in 5 minutes. And since the limit of most people’s attention is 20 minutes, Oren recommends this structure:
Introduce yourself and the big idea (5 minutes)
Highlight the biggest success of your career
Explain why your idea is relevant now — position it according to current economic, social, and technological forces
Explain the budget and secret sauce (10 minutes)
Demonstrate your budgeting skills as opposed to how well you can forecast revenue
Highlight the idea’s competitive advantage
Offer the deal (2 minutes)
Tell the audience what, when, and how you will deliver the work
Make the audience want you (3 minutes)
Remind the audience that even though you’re pitching to them, you are the prize
Let the audience know that even though no one likes being pressured into making decisions, there are reasons why they should give you an answer within a reasonable time frame
Use moral authority and give the audience reasons why choosing you would be the “right” thing to do
Make it known that you’re not needy and have other things lined up. Make the audience chase you.
A few other lessons from the book
Establish a dominant status quickly when interacting with your audience. You don’t earn status by being nice or trying to show your charisma through small talk. You earn it by being the subject matter expert and getting the audience to like you.
Never say things like “What do you think so far?”. This portrays neediness and weakness, which creates fear and anxiety in the audience’s mind.
Don’t start a meeting with “Thanks for taking the time to meet with me.”, as it reinforces the audience’s power over you. Find opportunities to mention that you have other things on your plate. Use phrases like “I’m glad I can find time for you.”.
Use people-centric stories to hold the audience’s attention and prevent them from mentally checking out during your pitch. When you see that attention is waning, tie in a story that’s related to the subject matter, but with this plot: you once knew someone, who was faced with a tough situation that they needed to overcome. Draw the audience in by creating intrigue around this character. How did they react? What did they do? How did they overcome and draw the obstacle? Everyone loves a good anecdote like that.
