1: We are building a presentation. What is the most important question we must ask ourselves?
“How will they rationalize the decision to ‘buy in’ to my proposal?” Brant Pinvidic writes in his book The 3-Minute Rule: Say Less to Get More from Any Pitch or Presentation.
Humans are the only species with the ability to rationalize.
“And it’s the basis and foundation for every decision we make,” he writes.
No matter the topic. No matter how much information we take in. Ultimately, we are going to rationalize our decision so we can explain it to ourselves and others.
“We are so programmed to rationalize that we can come up with an acceptable rationalization for almost any behavior,” he notes. “Whether it’s what toothpaste to use or whether to commit murder, that decision will be rationalized and accepted by the human brain.”
Brant calls it “the rationalization story.”
“If we are attempting to convince anyone of anything, that rationalization story is what they will use to make their decision.”
As professional presenters and persuaders, we aim to lay out our presentation according to how the brain naturally organizes information.
“Even if we spend three hours pitching every single detail, they will ultimately rationalize their decision using a simple story and collection of statements, guaranteed to be less than three minutes long.”
We must be precise. Succinct. Say only what must be said.
Brant calls it “The 3-Minute Rule.” Which he developed while working in Hollywood for more than two decades as a television producer.
Say less. Get more.
“It forced me to be more efficient and deliberate. It was stunning how effective that became,” he recalls.
“Three minutes was the magic number. . . I’ve been involved in nearly ten thousand pitches, and by using this system I’ve sold more than three hundred TV and movie projects to more than forty different TV networks and distributors,” he writes.
2: We begin by creating a master list of all the words or short (2-3 words) phrases that describe what we do. We capture each bullet point on a Post-it note or index card.
We ask: What do we do? What do we do well? What is it? Why is it good? What do we want someone to do or buy? Why should they do it or buy it? What’s in it for them?** [See below for a comprehensive list of questions to ask ourselves and our teams.]
We don’t edit ourselves. That comes later. Instead, we document every relevant point about our business, product, or service.
When we think we have everything written down, Brant tells us to “go get a cup of coffee or a glass of water. Come back and write down more. The key to this exercise is volume (thirty minimum). The more you write , the easier it will be to sort them later.”
He predicts we will be “stunned at how much information our list will contain.”
“One of my favorite moments working with new clients is when we have that Post-it-covered wall filled with bullet points and we take a big step back and look at everything,” Brant writes. I’ve never had a client look at it without a huge smile.”
Why? Because “the information represented by these bullet points is perfectly explained in [the mind of the client],” he observes.
Now, we go to work on how to present so it makes perfect sense in the mind of the prospect.
3: Once we have our complete list, we categorize each Post-it note or index card according to the four questions we outlined yesterday.
W—What is it?
H—How does it work?
A—Are you sure?
C—Can you do it?
Brant writes: “These four questions are the pillars of the rationalization story.”
We will use this framework to organize our presentation.
“There is a very specific order to how our audience will most effectively process our information,” he notes. “The WHAC method will allow us to establish and follow that structure.”
Next, we turn each bullet into a short sentence. “These are called statements of value,” Brant writes: “Simple declarative sentences that will capture and hold our audience’s attention . . . for a full three minutes.”
He suggests saying the points out loud. “For each one, explain why we wrote that word or phrase down, and why you put it in the WHAC category you did,” he suggests.
If our bullet point was:
Personal trainer becomes: I’m a certified personal trainer.
Former athlete becomes: I played semiprofessional baseball.
Low repetition becomes: Low repetition increases intensity.
Rest period becomes: A short rest period increases heart rate.
Celebrity clients becomes: I train actors for athletic roles.
What we don’t want to do? Slip back into jargon. “The exercise here is not to fall back on all of our previous sayings and verbiage,” Brant observes.
The question to ask ourselves and our teams: “What is the simplest way to say it?”
More tomorrow and next week.
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Reflection: How long is the typical sales presentation at my organization? What lessons can I learn from Brant’s 3-Minute Rule?
Action: Discuss with my team or with a colleague.
**Comprehensive list of questions to ask to ramp up the 3-Minute process:
W—WHAT IS IT?
- What makes you unique?
- What can you do that others can’t?
- What is the biggest need this fills?
- Are there big monetary advantages to your methods?
- What problem does this solve?
- Who is helped the most by this?
- Why does this have to happen now?
- What will be different after buying in?
- What hole in the market does this fill?
- What could this be worth in success?
- Why is it low risk? What makes your competition inferior?
- Why can’t someone copy you?
- How easy is this to implement?
H—HOW DOES IT WORK?
- What allows you to make your offering work?
- How can you deliver on your promise?
- How long will what you propose take?
- Is this a gradual or immediate change?
- How many people have this problem?
- Why haven’t others used this method?
- Who is actually performing the service?
- Is there a process that must be precisely followed?
- Has this been done successfully in the past?
- Are you taking any shortcuts? How is it safe?
- What are the things that only you know how to do?
- Why are there no other ways to do this?
- Why would you choose this method over others?
- How much money will someone save?
- Why is your way the only way?
A—ARE YOU SURE?
- What have you said that someone might not believe?
- Has third party verified your claims?
- How can this result be replicated?
- How do you know there is a need for this?
- What in your history confirms this?
- Who are you using to deliver this?
- What do your reviews say?
- How valuable is this market?
- How have people succeeded in this before?
- What makes you so sure you’re right?
- How did you know you were onto something?
- Why is this not “too good to be true”?
- Has anyone lost money like this?
- Has any of this been announced in public?
- Do you have unexpected supporters?
- Why can’t your competition do this better?
C—CAN YOU DO IT?
- What have you done that’s similar?
- Why don’t the regulations apply?
- Why isn’t this restricted?
- Is there anything in your past that would ruin this?
- How have others failed trying something like this? How have you trained for this?
- Are there other steps to take before you can deliver?
- Is there any fine print?
- Are there any other third parties involved?
- What successes led you to making this work?
- Do you have this in your possession now?
- What do you do if someone changes his or her mind?
- Do you have the connections that are necessary?
- Is there anyone better suited to deliver?
- What are the repercussions of underperformance?
- Who does someone contact if there is a problem?
- How have you dealt with problems in the past?