How do you introduce yourself to a new person? How do you sell yourself, so to speak, for a freelance project or a new job in an interview? Or even, how do you talk about yourself on a first date?
One thing is certain, you need to be convincing and interesting on the spot.
You have nearly no time to tell your story, but you must do it. And the longer it gets, the less interesting you become (if we want to be a bit dramatic here, but you get the point). The truth is, the more you tell, the less they care.
Mastering the art of keeping it short and interesting is definitely worth it.
Easier said than done though.
Do you know your story?
The good news, or bad depending on your perspective, is that pitching isn’t the difficult part. What’s truly challenging is knowing your story. In a business context, for instance, this means knowing your product, service, or whatever it is you’re selling.
You must understand where you come from, what motivates you, where you’re headed, and how your past and envisioned future connect.
And that’s where many of us find ourselves stuck.
While it’s true that living in the present is important and worrying excessively about the past or future can be counterproductive, you still need to connect the dots in the here and now. Even though your storyline will likely evolve, and few things go according to plan, you should always have a compelling narrative.
However, as anyone familiar with marketing and sales understands, your story must be tailored to your audience. This principle applies not only to business but also to personal and professional relationships.
To tell or not to tell
To be clear, I really think that you shouldn’t lie when you are trying to convince someone (obviously), but what you should understand is what to tell and to whom, as well as how to tell it.
If we need to point out a rule of thumb here, it’s the following: cut out 99% of the details that really don’t make any difference for the outcome.
Tell the thing that had the impact, the outcome, and to get there, tell the absolutely necessary stuff for the context. Nothing less or more.
Easy, no?
The tricky part, instead, is to understand how to tell what you have to tell.
Let’s think about a job interview as an example.
So you want to get a particular job, and you are applying to multiple different types of positions.
Clearly, you have your same experiences regardless of the jobs you apply to, but how these experiences and skills you have developed can apply to these different types of projects and positions is complexity different. And that is what you need to understand and then frame your pitch accordingly.
For the job-seeking example, think about what the core skills and tasks you would be involved in are. Where from your previous experience can you highlight and pick up an example that demonstrates this? Focus on that.
And when it comes to the parts of your story that don’t really align with the listener, forget them for now.
Ultimately, you want to create a strong first impression based on the common factor you have with the person(s) you are interacting with, whether it’s a business or personal interaction.
Finally, it is knowing what you want them to know. It is what you want to sell. And when you know that, stand behind your words with confidence.
Connecting the dots
So, in simple terms, to deliver a strong pitch as briefly as possible, you need to know:
- Where do you come from and what positive aspects does that bring along?
- Where are you going and why, i.e., what’s your driving force?
- Where are you now, and how is the other party in that moment positively part of your journey towards the target that you are trying to reach?
Know your storyline, recognise the common factor, and show where you add value to the other side. That’s the secret sauce.
