0
SPEAKER_01
We think downplaying ourselves and not talking about ourselves will make us relatable and we don t want to outshine other people, but actually it s a turn off.
0
SPEAKER_01
People see that you lack vulnerability and they take less interest in you.
0
SPEAKER_02
Hey everybody, welcome to the Art of Charm.
0
SPEAKER_02
I m your host, Jordan Harbinger.
0
SPEAKER_02
Today, another much anticipated episode of the AOC Toolbox, Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch.
0
SPEAKER_02
We re going to talk about things to make sure you have in your pitch, your qualifications, your wants and needs, the value up front, getting your presentation down, why and how you can practice, and something called self-reflective analysis, which will have your pitch evolving as you use it.
0
SPEAKER_02
So with that, welcome to the Art of Charm.
0
SPEAKER_02
we bring together the best thought leaders, teachers, and exceptional individuals to teach you how to be a top performer in life, love, and at work.
0
SPEAKER_02
And if you re new to the show, we d love to send you some top episodes and our toolbox, including episodes just like this, where we discuss body language and nonverbal communication, networking, persuasion, negotiation, and everything else we teach here at our boot camps here at AOC.
0
SPEAKER_02
In the US, just text charmed to 33444, that s C-H-A-R-M-E-D, to 33444.
0
SPEAKER_02
Everywhere else, go to theartofcharm.com.
0
SPEAKER_02
We may not have all the answers, but we definitely have all the right questions.
0
SPEAKER_02
All right, let s talk to Johnny and AJ about our elevator pitch.
0
SPEAKER_02
A lot of people write in and ask, and I know a lot of guys come to boot camp and ask, how do I explain what I do?
0
SPEAKER_02
Or what I do isn t very exciting.
0
SPEAKER_02
And I know that we ve struggled with this kind of firsthand in real life.
0
SPEAKER_02
So what do you guys do about the whole elevator pitch thing?
0
SPEAKER_01
It s unavoidable.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s a very common question that you re gonna get asked in conversation when you re meeting people for the first time.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s one of the simplest topics to discuss when we all learn small talk is, what do you do for work?
0
SPEAKER_01
What s your job?
0
SPEAKER_01
And I know for us, from personal experience, we started this over eight years ago, we were pretty timid and we didn t want to talk about what we did.
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, because there d be a lot of questions that we weren t prepared to answer.
0
SPEAKER_01
Right.
0
SPEAKER_01
So we tried our best to defer it, deflect, and finally we learned that we had to disclose.
0
SPEAKER_01
Obviously, it s important that you convey enthusiasm in your response because no matter how boring your job is, if you don t explain it in an enthusiastic way, the other person is gonna completely tune out.
0
SPEAKER_01
No matter what it is that you do, even if you re not enthusiastic about it, we want to start explaining things on an emotional level.
0
SPEAKER_01
Okay, so what do we need to include in an elevator pitch?
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, I think there s three important pieces.
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, first is your qualifications.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that s going to come out of, people are going to be asking you, how long have you been doing that?
0
SPEAKER_00
And so that s part of that.
0
SPEAKER_00
Your wants and needs, you should also have that because in discussing what you do and who you are, they re going to be looking for ways to add value to what you re doing.
0
SPEAKER_00
And you re going to be looking for the same in other people.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so at the end, you re also going to have the value that you have
0
SPEAKER_00
you re gonna be able to include to let people know what you can do for them.
0
SPEAKER_01
And it s called an elevator pitch for a reason, right?
0
SPEAKER_01
It s meant to be brief, succinct, concise, to the point, so that if we were to ride an elevator together for a few floors, I could very quickly understand what it is that you do and how I could help you if there is a chance for me to help you.
0
SPEAKER_01
So that s why it s even called an elevator pitch.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s meant to be short, brief, and to the point.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I know a lot of times when we start thinking about what it is that we do, we want to throw the kitchen sink at them and talk about all the different benefits and every single thing we do and how important we are.
0
SPEAKER_01
And obviously, that s when people s eyes kind of glaze over.
0
SPEAKER_01
So you want to make sure
0
SPEAKER_01
that the person who hears your pitch about you and who you are and what it is that you do could very easily turn around to the person next to them and say, this guy does this and this is why it s so cool.
0
SPEAKER_01
So if automatically your elevator pitch involves a lot of jargon, a lot of words that you would only understand if you work in the industry, if it s very industry specific, it s not going to benefit you.
0
SPEAKER_01
because other people aren t going to be able to share your story, to introduce you to people, to understand you on a greater level, and ultimately to help you.
0
SPEAKER_00
I would say if it does have some jargon that you can t get away from because of your industry, you might want to have the layman s term part of that ready to go next because the next question is,
0
SPEAKER_00
Could you elaborate on that?
0
SPEAKER_00
Could you explain that to me?
0
SPEAKER_01
So one of the best ways to think about this that we had ever encountered or learned, we were actually in D.C.
0
SPEAKER_01
at an event called Summit Series, and we had an opportunity to do some speed networking.
0
SPEAKER_01
So think of it as like speed dating, but instead you get to meet a bunch of entrepreneurs in 90 seconds.
0
SPEAKER_01
And one of the most interesting guys that we met, both Jordan and I during this speed dating event, sort of pulled us aside after and was like, you know what, I like you guys, but your elevator pitch sucks.
0
SPEAKER_01
And we weren t surprised because Jordan and I hadn t spent much time conversing about it, working together on it to make sure we re in sync.
0
SPEAKER_01
And ultimately we were kind of struggling with our job, what we do is not nearly as exciting as what other people in this room do.
0
SPEAKER_01
So we tried to downplay ourselves.
0
SPEAKER_01
And he said, guys, if I wanted to help you,
0
SPEAKER_01
I couldn t even start to help you because it wasn t clear what you guys do, but I m willing to offer you some advice.
0
SPEAKER_01
This is something that he s very passionate about, and he had struggled with himself.
0
SPEAKER_01
Now, this guy s name is Stephen Mead, and he taught us something called the tornado technique.
0
SPEAKER_01
And this is the basis for everything, okay?
0
SPEAKER_01
People don t care about you or what you do, or they just don t understand it.
0
SPEAKER_01
So it is very important that you cover four things in your pitch to make sure that the person talking to you understands what you do, and if there s an opportunity to help, can do so in a meaningful way.
0
SPEAKER_01
So first off, when someone asks you what you do, you start with the emotional value.
0
SPEAKER_01
What are the benefits?
0
SPEAKER_01
What help do you bring?
0
SPEAKER_01
How do you change people or basically help your customers, right?
0
SPEAKER_01
The second thing you want to talk about and make sure it s very clear is what industry or genre or type of customer do you work with?
0
SPEAKER_01
It s very important that we articulate who it is that we re working with, who it is that is receiving these benefits.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then, as Johnny was saying, to talk in layman s terms, make a metaphor to other companies in your industry, maybe bigger name companies or
0
SPEAKER_01
other types of companies and other industries that are very similar to yours, so that someone listening goes, oh, okay, I don t know your company specifically, but I do know this larger corporation, it makes a lot of sense.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then lastly, state very clearly who it is that you re hoping to meet, hoping to work with, hoping to network with, hoping to help.
0
SPEAKER_01
so that the person listening now understands on a grand scale what the benefit is, what the clear industry is, who it is that you re actually helping, and who it is that you would like to meet.
0
SPEAKER_01
So that if I get a chance to hear your pitch, I know immediately the benefits, I know, oh, okay, AJ works in this industry, so now I can think mentally in my Rolodex, who do I know that works in the film industry, or in music, or in life coaching?
0
SPEAKER_01
And then, oh yeah, I understand those companies.
0
SPEAKER_01
I know Facebook or I know Twitter.
0
SPEAKER_01
And lastly, oh, AJ s trying to meet CFOs to help him work on his financial planning.
0
SPEAKER_01
I happen to know a CFO in that industry.
0
SPEAKER_01
Now I can make that connection.
0
SPEAKER_01
So that helps you share in a meaningful way what it is you do and gives the other person the ability to help you on that journey.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that s a decent amount of content for such a small little conversation.
0
SPEAKER_00
So it needs to be concise and it needs to be pointed.
0
SPEAKER_01
Absolutely, and specific.
0
SPEAKER_01
Being specific, especially on that last point of who specifically you would like to meet, who specifically is your target audience, your target customer, is gonna help make a huge difference in that other person s ability to help you.
0
SPEAKER_02
So basically, in part, we need our elevator pitch to be clear and concise enough and also in so much layman s language that it can survive a game of telephone, right?
0
SPEAKER_02
So you tell me what you do, I tell somebody else what you do, and they can actually make a referral to you because it doesn t come out gobbledygook Greek and lose its effectiveness by being translated because nobody has to think about it.
0
SPEAKER_02
It s easy enough to understand for anyone.
0
SPEAKER_01
And that is how it becomes memorable, because people want to know the benefit.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s what interests them the most.
0
SPEAKER_01
More than the nuts and bolts of what you actually do, what is the benefit provided to other people, to your customers, et cetera.
0
SPEAKER_00
When was the last time you heard a pitch and you didn t think, how does that impact my life?
0
SPEAKER_00
What can I get out of that?
0
SPEAKER_00
It s the first thing.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s like, boom, it s what we re trained to go on.
0
SPEAKER_00
It may seem selfish, but listen, it s just how it works.
0
SPEAKER_01
And it s the only way that that other person is going to be able to share it with others and provide a benefit to you.
0
SPEAKER_01
So when we learn this from Steven, he reset everything for us and the rest of that event was worked like
1
SPEAKER_00
gangbusters for us.
1
SPEAKER_00
We were able to connect and meet with influencers and many of the people that we actually met that weekend after fixing our pitch with Steven came on the show and have been guests and have helped us continue to build our network.
1
SPEAKER_00
So it s a really powerful technique that I highly recommend you listen to, write down, and start applying when people are asking you what you do.
1
SPEAKER_04
Over the last 17 years, we have launched our fair share of online courses, coaching programs, and finding the right platform has always been a challenge.
1
SPEAKER_00
They say if you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.
1
SPEAKER_00
But if you re an entrepreneur, you know the hard work that comes with it.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s why you need Kajabi.
1
SPEAKER_00
Kajabi makes it easy to run your entire online business from one platform so you can focus on what you love, creating.
1
SPEAKER_04
Kajabi is the ultimate all-in-one platform that helps creators and entrepreneurs build successful online businesses by unlocking predictable recurring revenue.
1
SPEAKER_00
No matter your niche, Kajabi makes it easy to turn your skills, passions, and experiences into enriching online courses, exclusive membership sites, subscription podcasts, thriving communities, personalized coaching, and more.
1
SPEAKER_04
The best part, Kajabi doesn t cut into your revenue because everything is owned and controlled by you.
1
SPEAKER_04
So keep 100% of what you earn.
1
SPEAKER_00
And with Kajabi, you also get robust analytics, easy payment options, email marketing tools, and customizable website templates, all built in.
1
SPEAKER_04
You don t even need a huge audience to make sustainable income.
1
SPEAKER_04
There are thousands of creators on Kajabi making six and seven figures with less than 50,000 followers.
1
SPEAKER_00
Right now, Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you go to kajabi.com slash charm, that s K-A-J-A-B-I.com slash charm.
1
SPEAKER_04
Go to kajabi.com slash charm and join the creators and entrepreneurs who have made over $7 billion.
1
SPEAKER_00
Hey, Art of Charm listeners, I m excited to share a new podcast I ve been absolutely binging.
1
SPEAKER_00
Winning is an everyday mindset, and Craig Robinson and John Calipari are here to help.
1
SPEAKER_00
On Ways to Win podcast, Craig and Coach Cal use their on-court wisdom to solve your off-court problems.
1
SPEAKER_00
Whether it s trouble at home or a workplace dilemma, the coaches will help you find a winning formula for success.
1
SPEAKER_00
You ll hear from prominent athletes, business leaders, and celebrities who reveal insights that made them into the leaders they are today.
1
SPEAKER_00
And don t miss President Obama sharing how he deals with pressure by projecting confidence, believing in your team, and taking criticism.
1
SPEAKER_00
Listen to Ways to Win wherever you get your podcasts.
1
SPEAKER_00
Now, back to the show.
1
SPEAKER_01
once we start to hone this, once we start to use the framework to get it together, and of course we ll have some show notes here that will help people with the framework, how do we get it down?
1
SPEAKER_01
How do we make sure that we know it, we can do it, we can deliver it?
1
SPEAKER_03
As AJ said, there s a lot of information that we would need to put in here, so we want to make sure it s concise, we want to write everything down, and of course after that, it s easy to record yourself a few times doing it.
1
SPEAKER_03
You got your iPhone, every phone has a recorder, every computer, there s no reason why you can t
1
SPEAKER_02
record it and give it back to you.
1
SPEAKER_00
The easiest way to do this is to pull up the pitch in a Word document or Google document on your computer, have it right in front of you, read through it a few times, and then click record on that webcam.
1
SPEAKER_00
And pay close attention to, again, your facial expressions.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I know we talked about this in previous Toolbox episodes, but it is very important
1
SPEAKER_00
along with our pitch, that we display enthusiasm and excitement to be sharing this with the other person through our facial expressions, through emoting.
1
SPEAKER_00
So a lot of us right now, when it comes to talking about what we do or who we are and people ask us this, we re very bone dry, stoic, not showing any emotion.
1
SPEAKER_00
And unfortunately, while people are hearing this pitch, looking at our stoicism on our face, looking at our lack of emotion, they start to tune out.
1
SPEAKER_00
So when you play back that video that Johnny was talking about, recording yourself pitching, pay close attention to your facial expressions and make sure that they re seeing warmth, some smile, and some enthusiasm through your facial expressions as you are pitching.
1
SPEAKER_03
Then at some point, we gotta take it in front of somebody.
1
SPEAKER_03
So the first person, ask a close friend.
1
SPEAKER_03
Ask a good friend that you trust, who will give you some honest feedback, to hear your elevator pitch, and to give a few questions back and forth about what you do, and work on it from there.
1
SPEAKER_03
And also, it will get the little benefit of the Ben Franklin effect from that.
1
SPEAKER_03
The Ben Franklin effect is if you can get somebody to do a small favor for you, that brings them closer to you, and they ll wanna do more for you.
1
SPEAKER_03
But it starts with a small favor, a small ask.
1
SPEAKER_00
And what I love to do is blame your boss.
1
SPEAKER_00
Say, hey, my boss wants me to meet new clients, or my boss is asking me to network more, and I realize I don t have an elevator pitch.
1
SPEAKER_00
Hey, can I take you out for a drink and practice my pitch with you and get some feedback?
1
SPEAKER_00
and nine times out of 10, putting it on your boss, your friends, you d be like, yeah, no problem, I m willing to help you out at work.
1
SPEAKER_00
Sometimes it can be a little bit weird to be like, hey, just randomly, I m working on my elevator pitch.
1
SPEAKER_02
to offer.
1
SPEAKER_00
And we see this constantly in our clients that come through the program, right?
1
SPEAKER_00
As you work your way up the corporate ladder and you become more successful and you ve used your intelligence to advance, you want to downplay your results, your position, and how intelligent you are.
1
SPEAKER_00
And what happens is, through that downplaying and that self-deprecation, people can t relate to you and people find you a little off-putting.
1
SPEAKER_00
So it actually has the opposite impact, right?
1
SPEAKER_00
We think downplaying ourselves and not talking about ourselves will make us relatable and we don t want to outshine other people, but actually it s a turn off.
1
SPEAKER_00
People see that you lack vulnerability and they take less interest in you.
1
SPEAKER_00
So the Dunning-Kruger effect can have a really strong impact on your ability to network and connect with people in a meaningful way.
1
SPEAKER_00
So when you are talking about yourself,
1
SPEAKER_00
Realize that downplaying your accomplishments and what it is that you re working on is working against you.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s not helping you.
1
SPEAKER_03
There s a difference between boasting, bragging, sort of, and talking about the things you re excited about.
1
SPEAKER_03
That s two different things.
1
SPEAKER_03
Bragging is one thing, being excited about what you have going on in your life is another thing.
1
SPEAKER_03
We re looking to be excited about things because if you can t get excited about what you have going on in your life, how can you expect anyone else to do that as well?
1
SPEAKER_03
This is bravado versus passion.
1
SPEAKER_03
To me, there s two sides of it.
1
SPEAKER_02
There s a healthy bravado of enthusiasm and that boasting, bragging, douchey bravado.
1
SPEAKER_00
that is the reason that we focus on benefit first.
1
SPEAKER_00
Because if you re talking from benefit, it comes off a lot less arrogant, right?
1
SPEAKER_00
If you just start talking about your accomplishments or the amount of revenue you re pulling in or how much you had in sales last month, that has no benefit to the person you re talking to or they can t relate to you.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s where you run the risk of being arrogant.
1
SPEAKER_00
But we state the benefit, how we re helping people, how we re helping our customers, how we re furthering our career, and then
1
SPEAKER_00
you want to make sure that you re not downplaying that benefit.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that s what Johnny was talking about with the Dunning-Kruger effect.
1
SPEAKER_00
We see it time and time again.
1
SPEAKER_03
Always, and the other thing about it is we have to start learning how to healthily build ourselves up because self-esteem, confidence, it s just like anything else.
1
SPEAKER_03
If I was to build a building or some sort of structure, just leave it there with no maintenance, what s gonna happen to it, right?
1
SPEAKER_03
It s gonna fall apart.
1
SPEAKER_03
It s gonna fall apart.
1
SPEAKER_03
and it has every aspect of nature is going to tear into that.
1
SPEAKER_03
Your self-esteem has every force in the world looking to tear it down.
1
SPEAKER_03
You can spend years building your self-esteem and your confidence, and if you re not, have a steady maintenance of it,
1
SPEAKER_03
you know, a bad relationship, a friend that stabbed you in the back, an incident at work, boom, it s your self-esteem, your confidence right on the floor.
1
SPEAKER_03
So it s important to constantly be building yourself up, being excited, and maintaining your confidence and your self-esteem, so with a little bit of self-serving bias, so that you feel good about going out there and throwing this elevator pitch with enthusiasm.
1
SPEAKER_01
Are there venues where we can go to, to maybe get some reps in on this stuff?
1
SPEAKER_03
Well, it s funny that you mention that, Jordan, because in the Social Capital product that we have out, which helps a lot with this, you had mentioned how networking events can be equated to singles events, where everyone s really nervous and a lot of desperation, but what better place to practice your pitch
1
SPEAKER_03
at a place that you don t care, where everyone s nervous, where everyone has a fall down.
1
SPEAKER_03
So you don t have to worry about burning through leads or meeting anyone that you blew it.
1
SPEAKER_03
Everyone s gonna be nervous, everyone s gonna be a bit awkward, and everyone s gonna be working on their pitches.
1
SPEAKER_03
And what a better place to go out there and have at it.
1
SPEAKER_03
And as we say in class, an opportunity to fuck shit up, an opportunity for you to learn.
1
SPEAKER_02
And the best part about it is, the second your pitch starts hitting and starts making sense,
2
SPEAKER_00
you re gonna have people reaching out to you after those events, hitting you up, trying to add you on their LinkedIn, trying to add you to their network.
2
SPEAKER_00
So you re gonna get real-time feedback on the effectiveness of your pitch, right?
2
SPEAKER_00
If you go to one of these networking events and you burn it to the ground, you screw it up miserably and your pitch doesn t hit, no one s gonna respond, no one s gonna message you.
2
SPEAKER_00
But if they re going to a few events and getting that pitch down and paying close attention, again, to the other person s response to your pitch,
2
SPEAKER_00
you re gonna start to see people reaching out to you, people asking for your contact information, people following up with you after the event.
2
SPEAKER_00
And that s how you start to know your pitch is making waves, your pitch is connecting with people.
2
SPEAKER_00
And go into it as a social scientist.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s a moment to develop.
2
SPEAKER_02
It should be fun.
2
SPEAKER_02
And you re gonna get, as AJ said, that feedback right there.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s very important that we don t worry about messing this up, right?
2
SPEAKER_00
There s nothing negative that could happen from a pitch not connecting in a networking event where everyone, it s a pitch fest, right?
2
SPEAKER_00
That s why Jordan talks about it in Social Capital as that desperate singles dating event mixer.
2
SPEAKER_00
So everyone s burning the place down, everyone hasn t practiced their pitch, and they think they re the most important person in the room.
2
SPEAKER_00
First off, going to an event like that allows you to take some pressure off yourself, knowing that everyone else is screwing up too, it s not a big deal if I screw this up.
2
SPEAKER_00
The other thing that s great about that is you re gonna meet a lot of other people who are completely new to the scene, who are trying to reach out and branch out and build their network.
2
SPEAKER_00
They re going to be hyper responsive and engaged with your pitch more so than just some stranger on the street.
2
SPEAKER_00
So it s really great in those moments that if your pitch is connecting and you see that positive response from that networking event, it s going to fuel you to now put yourself out there at work, put yourself out in the better opportunities to network and meet people.
2
SPEAKER_02
Listen, we all, when working on our pitch, everyone wants that opportunity to be with that CEO in the corner for that 30 seconds.
2
SPEAKER_02
Everyone dreams of that moment.
2
SPEAKER_02
And listen, those moments, as great as they are, are rare, and they can be a lot of pressure.
2
SPEAKER_02
But building with everyone else from the ground up and say, so for this company in itself, moving into close to a decade now, how many people that we still know, that we still work with, whose companies have grown with us, who now
2
SPEAKER_02
Right.
2
SPEAKER_02
As a very powerful ally.
2
SPEAKER_02
When we had just met them, we re just friends to go drinking with.
2
SPEAKER_02
Right.
2
SPEAKER_02
But as we all cared, as we all continued pushing forward, we have cultivated relationships that were all these were from the ground up.
2
SPEAKER_00
And our pitch has changed over the years.
2
SPEAKER_00
In the beginning, there were times where Jordan and I would meet someone influential, and we would pitch him on coming on the podcast, and we would be all excited and enthusiastic about it, and we d reach out to them after, and they d say, sorry, you guys are dating, not interested, or sorry, the show s not a good fit.
2
SPEAKER_00
So we ve had these same growing pains, and in fact, recently, I had reunited with a friend I hadn t seen in a number of years, and he was introducing me to people with our old pitch.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I realized like how frustrating it was like, no, that s not actually what I do.
2
SPEAKER_00
So it is OK for your pitch to evolve and change and grow with you.
2
SPEAKER_00
Our pitch has gone through multiple rewrites and revisions so that it fits what we re working on now and what our goals are.
2
SPEAKER_00
But the best part about a memorable pitch is that although Johnny was right, those opportunities where you get one on one face time with the CEO are rare.
2
SPEAKER_00
It could happen to friends in your network.
2
SPEAKER_00
And if your pitch is memorable, they re going to be able to pitch that CEO when they have that opportunity.
2
SPEAKER_00
So you don t even have to be in the room to have your pitch have an impact.
2
SPEAKER_02
Well, to go along with building the relationships from the ground up with other people at your level and watching those businesses and relationships grow, what you had just mentioned about having that one opportunity with the CEO guy.
2
SPEAKER_02
Well, perhaps in that time you weren t ready, but if your pitch was memorable in five years, boom, you are now having that connection again.
2
SPEAKER_02
He still sees that you ve been diligent, your company has grown, and now you are ready for each other.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, that s right, those doors may be closed, but they re never locked.
2
SPEAKER_00
And if you keep working on yourself and improving and growing your business, and the outside world can see this, that pitch, if it s memorable, will be there to help you years down the road.
2
SPEAKER_02
There s been multiple times in this company where we have met somebody where it just didn t work out at that time, and we re new, and we ll see if we can get it together.
2
SPEAKER_02
You know, obviously your first thought is, well, fuck those guys.
2
SPEAKER_02
We don t need them anyway.
2
SPEAKER_02
But you stay positive, you look on the bright side, you continue to work and build.
2
SPEAKER_00
And most importantly, have fun.
2
SPEAKER_00
Realize that this is just practice.
2
SPEAKER_00
And as we ve talked about in previous episodes, it s all about your emotional enthusiasm coming through with this pitch.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s what people are gonna remember as well.
2
SPEAKER_00
So if you re having a good time with it, and even if you burn it down, your smile s gonna matter more than any of those mistakes.
2
SPEAKER_00
Absolutely.
2
SPEAKER_01
Thanks for listening and supporting the Art of Charm.
2
SPEAKER_01
For a list of all the amazing sponsors and discount codes, visit theartofcharm.com slash advertisers.
2
SPEAKER_01
Now, back to the show.
2
SPEAKER_01
Okay, how do we gradually and incrementally get better at this?
2
SPEAKER_01
I mean, as we know, practice makes perfect, but we also know that we gotta be deliberate with our practice in order to really make strides.
2
SPEAKER_01
Is there a way that we can sort of self-monitor and get better?
2
SPEAKER_02
Well, sure, AJ had made a mention of that.
2
SPEAKER_02
If your pitch starts to come together, that people are going to be looking and hitting you up afterwards to connect.
2
SPEAKER_02
But also, when you go home, think about and be honest with yourself.
2
SPEAKER_02
What things did you do?
2
SPEAKER_02
What?
2
SPEAKER_02
Well, right.
2
SPEAKER_02
Did you have good body language?
2
SPEAKER_02
Were you enthusiastic?
2
SPEAKER_02
Did you get all your words out fluently?
2
SPEAKER_02
Think about two things for the next time that you re gonna go out and work on this that you can do better.
2
SPEAKER_02
And just think about that one or two things specifically.
2
SPEAKER_02
And by the end of the evening, have a self-reflective moment where you critique that.
2
SPEAKER_00
The other thing that I find most important with all of this is observe other people s pitches.
2
SPEAKER_00
If you re going to these events and you re meeting lots of people and you re trying to network, you re gonna encounter other people pitching you.
2
SPEAKER_00
and think about, take mental notes, the pitches that you remember.
2
SPEAKER_00
What are the ones that are memorable to you, that move you?
2
SPEAKER_00
What was that person doing?
2
SPEAKER_00
What words did he use to describe his job?
2
SPEAKER_00
How did their pitch impact you?
2
SPEAKER_00
And using that reflection on other people who are pitching, right?
2
SPEAKER_00
We ve been to, at this point, hundreds of events, and most people s pitches suck.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ll be honest with you.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t understand what they do, and I certainly don t understand how I can help them.
2
SPEAKER_00
And it s very frustrating because that s what I want to do.
2
SPEAKER_00
I want to meet people and I want to have an impact on other people s lives.
2
SPEAKER_00
So I know for a fact that there s probably only 10 or 15 pitches that I remember and those people I m constantly sending connections and contacts to.
2
SPEAKER_00
So think about the opposite, right?
2
SPEAKER_00
Think about the pitches that you ve heard and what did that person pitching you do that was so impactful?
2
SPEAKER_00
Now, a pitch obviously is words, but it s also non-verbals.
2
SPEAKER_00
And as you guys know, we talk a lot about non-verbals in our live training programs here in Los Angeles.
2
SPEAKER_00
And we work very hard with all of our clients to make sure that they understand the impact of their body language and they make changes to their body language so that they re more engaging, more receptive, and people in general feel more comfortable around them.
2
SPEAKER_00
And one of the biggest mistakes that people make non-verbally when they are pitching someone else or starting a conversation with someone else is they stay in positive body language.
2
SPEAKER_00
And what I mean by positive body language is they are just placing themselves directly across from the other person.
2
SPEAKER_00
And the way I like to think about this is if you had a flashlight on your belt buckle,
2
SPEAKER_00
When you re talking to someone, if you are shining your flashlight, putting your torso directly at the other person, shining that flashlight right on them, you re putting a lot of pressure and tension into the interaction and it s going to be very difficult for the other person listening to engage because they re going to start to feel nervous around you.
2
SPEAKER_00
So what we teach in our program here is always start conversations with neutral body language, or move to neutral body language as quickly as possible so that by the time you re pitching, you re standing neutral.
2
SPEAKER_00
And what I mean by neutral is you re standing next to the person, as if you guys are friends already, as if you re on the same team, and if your flashlights were shining in the exact same direction.
2
SPEAKER_00
And that simple change to your body language of moving side by side to someone
2
SPEAKER_00
allows that other person to connect and relate with you a lot easier so that now they re going to fully grasp your pitch and not be self-conscious about the fact that you are beaming all of your attention on them.
2
SPEAKER_00
So that s one of the biggest mistakes that people make non-verbally with their pitch.
2
SPEAKER_00
The second biggest mistake is, again, going back to those facial expressions.
2
SPEAKER_00
Once they start talking about what they do or they get asked what they do, we see this total change in their expression, right?
2
SPEAKER_00
They lose their smile, they get a little disengaged, and all of a sudden the person that they re talking to or pitching to also becomes less excited and enthusiastic.
2
SPEAKER_00
The most memorable pitches that I ve encountered always have this enthusiasm and passion coming through
3
SPEAKER_00
non-verbally, not just verbally.
3
SPEAKER_00
So what that means is warmth in the face, a full face smile with good eye contact.
3
SPEAKER_00
So when you are pitching someone, you re making sure that you re looking at them, right?
3
SPEAKER_00
Your eyes are not moving around.
3
SPEAKER_00
So if we re standing side by side, we simply turn our head and look at them and give them our pitch.
3
SPEAKER_00
That simple act of having warmth in your face and having engaging eye contact is gonna force that other person to understand the pitch on a greater level than just listening to the words, right?
3
SPEAKER_00
And now they know that you re beaming this enthusiasm on them so they have an opportunity to get enthusiastic about what it is that you do.
3
SPEAKER_00
Now the third and final biggest mistake that we see people make non-verbally when it comes to talking to other people or pitching especially is
3
SPEAKER_00
they re not committed to the pitch.
3
SPEAKER_00
And what I mean is they re standing far away from the person, they re already looking to leave, and they re not actually commanding that person s attention enough to get their point across.
3
SPEAKER_00
So when we talk about being committed, we talk about committing to your pitch,
3
SPEAKER_00
Being fully invested in the pitch and committing to the interaction by standing close enough to the other person, not being so self-conscious about personal space.
3
SPEAKER_00
We find time and time again, especially with people who are very introverted, that they are very conscious of personal space and they are trying to maintain
3
SPEAKER_00
a safe distance from the other person.
3
SPEAKER_00
But what happens is, if you move too far away from the other person, they actually start to lose interest in what you re saying.
3
SPEAKER_01
Well, if you can t be bothered to step into their personal space and get their attention, why should I be bothered to hear what you have to say?
3
SPEAKER_01
I think a lot of it also is, I don t want to bother this person too much, or I don t want to take them away from what they have going on, but you have to if you re going to give them this pitch.
3
SPEAKER_00
They can t do both.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, and don t you want their full attention?
3
SPEAKER_00
Would you want to pitch someone who s sitting on their phone who s only giving you 50% of their attention?
3
SPEAKER_00
No, because you know that your pitch is not going to work.
3
SPEAKER_00
So you have to get in their personal space.
3
SPEAKER_00
You have to get close with being physically close to them.
3
SPEAKER_00
And you have to be comfortable with getting in their personal space and being physically close to them.
3
SPEAKER_00
That is how you re going to craft that impactful elevator pitch.
3
SPEAKER_00
So in closing, when we re talking about pitching someone else on what it is that we do, we want to make sure that we start with the benefit to other people, because people don t really care about what you do, or at a minimum, they don t understand it, and they re certainly not gonna understand it unless you start speaking with benefits first, and that s why we told you our friend Steven Mead s tornado technique, because it is very effective at being concise, to the point, and starting with the benefits.
3
SPEAKER_00
Second thing you wanna be aware of, practice makes perfect, right?
3
SPEAKER_00
You re not gonna nail your pitch the first time, and you re certainly not gonna nail it the first time you encounter a CEO or some influencer that you really wanna get to know.
3
SPEAKER_00
So it is important that you put some time in ahead of time, preparing yourself by practicing in a mirror, recording yourself pitching, practicing with your friends, and then as Jordan said, go to those networking events, those dating style events where you get to meet lots of people in a short amount of time,
3
SPEAKER_00
They re not really effective at creating long-lasting relationships, but they are a great place to practice that pitch on lots of people.
3
SPEAKER_00
And third, worry about your nonverbals.
3
SPEAKER_00
So many of us get so caught up in what to say, we don t pay any attention to what s going on nonverbally.
3
SPEAKER_00
So we walked you through three of the biggest mistakes that people make nonverbally so that you can have an impactful pitch.
3
SPEAKER_02
Another great episode, special thanks to AJ and Johnny for taking the time out to teach some of the bootcamp curriculum, just a little taste to help you guys move forward.
3
SPEAKER_02
And I wanna hear about how you use this, how you craft this, and how it helps you.
3
SPEAKER_02
And don t forget, our bootcamps and live program details, bootcamp.theartofcharm.com.
3
SPEAKER_02
Remember, we sell out a few months in advance, so even if you re just thinking about it, it s in the back of your mind somewhere, get in touch ASAP, get some info from us, no harm in that, you can plan ahead or not.
3
SPEAKER_02
And I also want to encourage you to join us in our social capital challenge at theartofcharm.com slash challenge.
3
SPEAKER_02
Or if you re in the States, text charmed, that s C-H-A-R-M-E-D, to 33444.
3
SPEAKER_02
It s all about improving your networking and connection skills.
3
SPEAKER_02
Inspiring those around you to develop connections and relationships with you.
3
SPEAKER_02
And we ll send you that fundamentals toolbox, including episodes like this that I talked about earlier in the show.
3
SPEAKER_02
I also have videos and exercises and drills and things like that to help you move forward.
3
SPEAKER_02
You ll get all of that.
3
SPEAKER_02
It ll make you a better networker, a better connector, and a better thinker.
3
SPEAKER_02
That s theartofcharm.com slash challenge or text charmed in the US to 33444.
3
SPEAKER_02
This episode of AOC was produced by Jason DeFilippo.
3
SPEAKER_02
Jason Sanderson is our audio engineer and editor.
3
SPEAKER_02
Show notes on the website are by Robert Fogerty.
3
SPEAKER_02
I m your host, Jordan Harbinger.
3
SPEAKER_02
Now go ahead and tell your friends because the greatest compliment you can give us is a referral to someone else either in person or shared on the web.
3
SPEAKER_02
Now stay charming and leave everything and everyone better than you found them.
3
SPEAKER_03
Thanks for listening to the Art of Charm.
3
SPEAKER_03
Get more confidence, relationship skills, life hacks, and more at theartofcharmpodcast.com.