1: “Why did Bambi’s mom die at the beginning of the film?” asks Hollywood producer and author Brant Pinvidic.
“Disney could easily have told the story of Bambi just getting lost, or not shown Bambi’s mom dying, or done it later in the film,” he writes in his book The 3-Minute Rule: Say Less to Get More from Any Pitch or Presentation.
Why? Because doing so puts our emotions exactly where the filmmakers want them as we enter into the story of Bambi.
“Bambi’s mom had nothing to do with the actual story,” Brant writes. “Once his mom dies, Bambi’s journey and the movie begin.”
Which is similar to the opening scene of the movie Braveheart. William Wallace’s father heads out to fight the English. He dies.
“Now we are prepared to watch this young boy return and eventually claim his country,” Brant notes.
2: How do we create this “pre-suasion” in our presentations?
One way is to share our “reason for being,” Brant writes. “It’s the question of why we got interested and where the idea came from, and, crucially, how we figured out the idea was good.”
When we share this information, we “subtly tell the audience why they should care,” he suggests.
“And when done right it opens the audience’s mind to the possibilities ahead and warms them up to the story and events that are about to unfold.”
To find the perfect story to open our pitch, we ask ourselves:
o Why am I excited about this?
o When did I discover the opportunity?
o What was my first thought when I realized how this could work?
o Where did I learn about this?
o What surprised me when I started looking into this?
3: A related approach is to identify something successful somewhere else and apply it to a new realm.
“In my TV pitches,” Brant writes, “I always use a story about a successful show and something specific I find interesting or compelling.”
Example?
“I just sold a show that is effectively The Amazing Race for really smart engineering-type people who could build their way across the world,” he shares. “I opened the pitch like this: “We started studying some of the recent TV hits and noticed something very interesting about how the audience is evolving in their expectation of competition. . .
“Look at what The Voice did to American Idol. American Idol was putting on talented amateurs, but The Voice was putting on the best singers to start the show. Naked and Afraid took Survivor and brought in experts. With American Ninja Warrior, it’s just Wipeout with experts doing a harder obstacle course. . .
“We realized that nobody had done this for The Amazing Race. They’ve had thirty seasons of hapless nitwits struggling to find their way around the world. Well, it’s time to up the game and bring in the experts. It’s called the Mad Dash.
“My less-than-thirty second intro,” Brant reflects, “neatly explains why we came up with this show.”
By sharing the backstory, our buyer now understands what is coming and is ready to listen to our pitch. Our introduction has put them in the right frame of mind.
More tomorrow.
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Reflection: How can I use Brant’s ” pre-suasion ” storytelling technique to open my presentation or pitch?
Action: Experiment with this approach today. Or this week.
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