1: “I used to end my pitches with a clever saying or pun that led me back to my title,” Brant Pinvidic writes in his excellent book The 3-Minute Rule: Say Less to Get More from Any Pitch or Presentation.
“ ‘And that’s why Run for the Money will be a run-away hit!’ or something equally cringe-worthy,” he recalls.
He could feel the eye rolls in the room.
“Everything up to that point was so natural and genuine,” he writes, “that this forced ending started to feel more and more contrived and rehearsed.”
2: So, how should we end our pitch?
Brant has experimented with lots of different closing techniques. “Eventually, I discovered the one version that worked the best,” he notes.
“Are we ready for that flurry that is the end of the Fourth of July fireworks show? Get ready for the clashing of symbols and blaring of horns at the end of the symphony. Everybody dying at the end of a Shakespeare tragedy.
“What is the ending of the 3-Minute pitch? How do we go out with a bang?!
“Are you ready for it?” he asks.
“You don’t.”
Huh?
We “don’t need an ending,” Brant writes. We “don’t even want one.”
Because if we’ve laid out our presentation correctly and powerfully, the way we end it doesn’t really make a difference.
We “never want to say or do anything in our pitch that reminds the audience that they are being pitched or sold to,” Brant believes.
“When I pitch a TV show using a Prezi or PowerPoint, I end by simply showing the original logo slide and effectively say nothing,” He writes. “I actually mean that sometimes I literally say nothing. I just stop talking and show the logo.
“It goes back to the very core of my principle Say Less and Get More,” he notes. “I had already explained the show, how it worked, and why it was so good, and proved that I could do it.
“What else of value was there left to say? Nothing. The pitch was done. Now it’s time to engage and discuss.”
Brant will typically pause for a few seconds and say: “OK, now that you know what it is and how and why it works, I’ll answer any questions you might have and share some other details you might be interested in.”
Smart.
3: Here is a quick overview of Brant’s 3-Minute pitch:
First we explain the reason you got involved or excited (Opening).
Then tell the story of what it is (What is it?) and how it works (How does it work?).
Then explain how we knew we were on the right path (Are we sure?).
Then we talk about our biggest struggle (All is lost).
Then explain how you overcame it and the result (Our hook).
Then share how amazing that feeling is (The edge).
And how it was all leading us here the entire time (The callback).
And finally, now we can share this with others (Can we do it?).
More tomorrow.
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Reflection: How do I typically close my pitch or presentation? Does it work well?
Action: Experiment with Brant’s say nothing technique.
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