Are you making these four mistakes
which will kill your pitch?
If the future of business means
that you need to pitch to Americans
be able to follow the cultural codes and do all
of that in English like a pro, then this video is for you.
Are you ready?
Let's go.
Hi, I'm Christina, founder
of Business English with Christina, and I've helped dozens
of companies already to successfully pitch their products
at events in the USA and abroad.
And this video is a part
of a series that is going to help you dive deeply
into how to create your personalized pitch.
Before we get into the techniques
there's an article that I love, it's from entrepreneur.com
where a founder of a tech company goes to pitch an investor
in Silicon Valley.
I mean, classic story, right?
So they started talking about their product
and all of their details about it, like the technology.
And you know what that pitch, it didn't go well
because the partner just looked bored, annoyed, distracted.
And I mean, that pitch was all wrong.
And you know what he actually said, like his exact words
in reaction to the pitch that he just watched.
I don't care about the products as much as you might think
stop going on and on, I get it.
What I care about is what you are building
for me, the revenue, the opportunity for return.
Ooh. I mean, can you imagine the pain in that moment?
I mean, so if you don't talk about all
of the technical details about how good your product is
what should you talk about first in your pitch?
Well, the first thing that you wanna talk
about is your client's problem as they see it.
Why your solution can solve their problem
and why it's unique.
Try something like this.
There's a big change going on in the med tech industry.
Some companies are going to win
and some companies are going to lose.
Our software will help your company be one of the winners.
See how intriguing that sounds?
I mean, doesn't that make you want to listen
to what's coming next?
I mean, it makes me want to listen to it.
So start with your client's problem
because they want a solution.
All right.
Mistake number two.
When you're nervous, does your voice stay low
and calm or does it get high?
Do you speak slowly
or do you speak way too fast because you're nervous
and you're trying to put everything into a one minute pitch?
Good thing there's subtitles anyway.
Here's a quote from the Harvard Business Review
on how to deliver your pitch.
Before people decide what they think of your message
they decide what they think of you.
So you need to connect
with your audience before you share your solution.
And according to Harvard Business review your body language.
Intonation and voice matter a lot.
And yes, native speakers have to work on this too.
It's not a question
of English being your native language or not.
It's a question of working on these things
so that your pitch does what you want it to do
which is probably get someone to sign up for your program
to invest in your product
to maybe contact you just to know more.
Whatever your goal is, you want your pitch to
reach that goal.
And this is something that we often spend time
with our clients working on, helping them, how
to make that connection first.
And here's a couple of strategies, but notice that none
of these strategies have anything to do
with your English level, your accent, or anything like that.
You wanna show warmth and confidence with open body language
and posture, you know, not, not like this or this, or hands
in your pocket, none of that.
Also, a little bit about how high or low your voice is
your intonation, which is dynamic.
Now that does come back a little bit to your English
but it's not your English level.
It's how you use your voice.
And like I said, this is something that native speakers also
have to work on.
How fast are you speaking?
Again, native speakers, we do this, it's a natural reflex
I would say, when you're nervous to speak fast.
And that's if you, English is your native language or not.
So for all of that, consider recording yourself
and watching yourself, like make a video of yourself
or practicing with a colleague or a coach who
can give you feedback.
But honestly, as painful as it is, making a video
of yourself and watching it is a great way to see how
others see you.
And I mean, I'm speaking from experience here, five years
YouTube video.
Every week you'll get used to seeing yourself on
camera. I promise
Mistake number three is trying to sound too smart.
Yeah, I know this sounds counterintuitive
for a lot of cultures, but remember
Americans are often focused a lot more
on emotional intelligence rather
than intellectual intelligence, at least
at the beginning in the pitch stage.
Now, for example, I have seen a lot of my clients here
in France who want to show off their intelligence.
And I don't mean that in a bad way.
I mean, they want, they're doing it
because they want to use their intelligence as a form
of credibility to reassure the other person to show
that they have the education and the background, you know
to do their job.
But what happens is
if you are putting all of that out there
it can look arrogant to an American audience
because it's almost like you're saying
look at how smart I am, look at how intellectual I am.
And that's why working
on your emotional intelligence, your eq, and not your iq
it's a big topic in a lot of American business publications.
And over on the blog
I've actually got lots of fantastic resources
on how you can use your eq, your emotional intelligence
your emotional quotient to improve your sales.
Now, of course, that article
it's for an American audience, but hey
if you are trying to do business with Americans, so anyway
to improve your pitch right now
you can ask yourself these questions, am I nervous
and am I thinking about myself and what I want?
Or my product and the technical details?
Am I focused on my audience?
Who are they and what do they need?
How can I shift my focus from myself
and my product to the needs of my audience?
And do you know what most
of my clients find when they make this shift in their focus?
Everything changes when you stop paying attention
to things that don't matter
like perfect English, perfect grammar, how smart you sound
all of those little technical details about your product
how it works, how much it costs, et cetera.
And you focus on what matters instead
who you're talking to and how you can help them.
So if you wanna learn more
about how you can adapt your pitch
to your audience specifically, be sure to come back
for the next lesson on this special series.
And if you'd like an invitation
to my next live free interactive workshop
on topics like this, go ahead and sign
up to my newsletter so that you get your invitation.
If you don't use it, you lose it.
And here's how you can start thinking
about and using what you've learned in today's lesson.
In the comments below, tell me
about how you feel when you think
about pitching to Americans.
Maybe you've done it.
Share your story with us
whether it was great or not so great.
It's part of the learning process.
There is no shame in making mistakes.
We all do it.
It's how we learn.
Or if you haven't done it, maybe you're thinking about it.
What are your questions that you have?
Put 'em in the comments so I can answer them.
And if this lesson was helpful for you
there are three ways that you can let me know
and I would love to know.
You can give this lesson a thumbs up on YouTube, of course
and subscribe to this channel so
that you get all of those future business
English and American culture lessons.
Of course, head over to the blog
go get those resources on pitching and your ultimate guide
on pitching to Americans and watch the next lesson
how to adjust your pitch to your audience.
It's coming up next week, so I will see you soon.