At a recent conference, MOVE 2017, non-profit leaders were given the opportunity to work on their own pitches to prospective funders and then receive feedback on how effective they were and how to improve.
Lots of useful advice was given to the non-profit leaders. But the recurring advice that I kept hearing was that the pitches needed to do a better job enunciating or emphasizing the names of the organizations.
Audience members need help catching and remembering new and unfamiliar names and terms. And when there's not an accompanying handout or presentation aid, it's even trickier to understand and remember the name. I noticed that most of the pitches only mentioned the organization's name once. If the funders didn't catch it then, they were out of luck. Repetition is good in public speaking. Find ways to work in the organization's name a couple of times, particularly at the beginning.
One presenter went one better: before she began speaking, she handed each of the panelists one of her business cards. The funders loved that and the rest of the presenters quickly followed suit.
Take advantage of the first time you say your organization's name. Say it distinctly and clearly. Pause right before you state the name for emphasis. Find a way to work that name in at least one more time, even in a one to two minute pitch. And while handouts can be distracting, if you can't use a presentation aid, consider handing out a business card or flier either before you begin or right after.
Professor Ezzeddine,
ReplyDeleteI must say, first off, I am a huge fan of Shark Tank and really appreciated this allusion as it helped stress the importance of enunciation and emphasis within public speaking. I wholly agree with you in that entrepreneurs seeking investments, and public speakers alike, must continuously emphasize their product/concept/message throughout their presentations. With repetition, it really engrains the message into the audience's mind, ensuring that the entrepreneur's or the public speaker's presentation is memorable and more likely to stick with the listeners. I also believe there is a fine line between over-emphasis and a lack-thereof; presenters need to not only be focused upon eloquently placing emphasis on their message/product, but also ensuring that they are not over-saturating their presentations with simple branding. With this in mind, how do you recommend one determines when to appropriately "brand" themselves without coming off as arrogant? This is relevant to me in that I have recently been interviewing for jobs, and I have found it very important to emphasize and enunciate on my qualities that would align with the company's mission and goals. With your tip, I will also begin to bring business cards and my resume with me when networking to ensure that I will leave a lasting memory on the individuals I am meeting. As a college student, I am continually learning how to better myself and my qualities to be prepared to enter the workforce.
Thank you for your insight from your experience at the MOVE 2017 conference as well as all of your other help throughout the semester. I wish you well!
-Chris Jadan