Entrepreneurial Goldmine

I just finished a great book about public speaking, ”The Exceptional Presenter” by Timothy J. Koegel.  The book is an easy read, yet extremely practical and provides workbook style,  action oriented executables.  Upon finishing, I thought about the relationship between the information in this book and the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make during the pre-launch and/or pre-revenue stage of their start-up – it’s the pitch or the lack there of…

One of the most compelling aruguements Koegel makes in his book is the value of communication and interpersonal skills.  For a new entrepreneur these skill are invaluable…let me repeat – INVALUABLE.  If new entrepreneurs have any intention of trying to convince their financiers that they have the skill set to manage the company, one of the founders MUST have the communication and interpersonal skills to make the pitch.  The way the financiers look at it, if you have the skills to convince them without a doubt, you may have the skills to convince employees, customers, vendors/suppliers and other stakeholders.

As a result, I’ve tried to compile a few tools that can help entrepreneurs prepare for the pitch.  The first in a three part series on being a better presenter is about Koegel’s aforementioned book.  In “The Exceptional Presenter”, Koegel offers up six characteristics for presenters to “own the room”.  The characteristics form the acronym – OPEN UP, where Koegel helps presenters understand the internal and external components of exceptional presenting:

O = Organized: They look poised, polished and sound prepared

P = Passionate: They have had one too many sipps of their own KoolAid!  Not only do they believe what they are telling you and they try to make you believe it, but they try to make you feel it.  They keep your attention

E = Engaging: Extraordinary presenters are engaging and they keep your attention.  Koegel points out that everyone wanders, but the best presenters keep you coming back to them as opposed those that lose you within the first 5 minutes and you never return until their done.

N = Natural: You’ve seem them, they make it look effortless.  This really is the summary of all the other characteristics because you can only look like a natural when all the other characteristics are moving in harmony.

U = Understand Your Audience: Gain the necessary information to convince your audience that you understand them, their needs and how you can add value (in whatever format you need to do so)

P = Practice: Practice, practice, practice.  Koegel recommends that you practice everytime you speak.  Most personality test try to figure out how you react under pressure.  When you practice enough, your natural behavior under pressure will be as a natural presenter.

Here is a YouTube video from Koegel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAd_ScIl0Yw

The next part will refer you to tools designed to help with the structure of your pitchth.  As a good friend of mine says, Stay tuned…