Tag: pitch

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Pitch Perfect – How to Use Your Voice

Before his election to the presidency, Adolf Hitler took voice development lessons from an opera singer. Hitler understood early on that the voice is one of the most important elements of body language. The voice has a dramatic and far-reaching influence on how our messages are understood and how our ideas are adopted.

In last week’s blog, we introduced you to the importance of body language. Thirty-eight percent of the non-verbal elements of body language relate to the central elements of voice and tone. These are the two tools that can help us evoke inspiration and attention. Below are several tips for the correct use of voice and tone:

The enemy: monotone – strength of voice, speech rhythm, style or pauses – there isn’t just one way to use these vocal characteristics. Fast speech isn’t preferable to slow speech and vice-versa; there’s no preference between a strong voice and a weak voice. The key to all of types of speech is diversity. These characteristics have a wide range of use and the speaker must move within this range. The mistake most people make is that they adopt a permanent tone and rhythm and stick with it. Here are ways to vary your voice throughout your presentation and keep your audience engaged.

  • Intensity – a quiet and a strong voice should be integrated. A strong voice can emphasize certain points, while a soft voice can create tension. We should move between the different intensities according to the message that we’re trying to transmit.
  • Rhythm – there is a widespread assumption that if we’re speaking before an audience, we should speak slowly. This isn’t necessarily true. We live in a high-speed world today. People are used to receiving content quickly. We need to suit ourselves to the rhythm of our audience.

    • Pay attention to the fact that a fast rhythm shouldn’t replace the words you’re saying. People have a habit of swallowing the end of a sentence. The more the words at the end of a sentence are emphasized, the more confident we sound.
  • Style – the content of a speech can become amazing with the proper use of your voice. For example, if you want to talk about “budget” in a soft and empathetic voice that will reduce opposition, try thinking about babies or puppies. These soft and tender tones will be heard in your voice. Whether it is empathy, authority or inspiration, a change of vocal style lets us grant a certain feeling to the audience, a feeling that will emotionally help it connect to your message.
  • Pauses – it is important to integrate pauses into your speech and, even more important, to know where to place them. It’s worthwhile to pause before giving the main message, in order to give it more power. A pause can also be used after someone in the audience asks a question in order to emphasize that we are thinking about the answer. Pauses are also important for making a distinction between various sections of a presentation. This gives your audience a chance to absorb what has already been said and to reflect on it.

How can you know if you have a monotonous tone? Here are a few tips:

  • Try to find some sort of metronome and practice speaking with it. The goal is for your voice to NOT match up with it.
  • You can experiment by counting the rhythm of words per minute. The average is 100 words per minute when we stand in front of an audience; although, studies show that mentally we can actually absorb 450 words per minute (but that doesn’t mean we need to speak at that speed).
  • You can record yourself, or simply ask people or practice in front of people. Ask leading questions because the audience won’t ask them. But if you’re an unmistakable monotone, the audience will immediately recognize it.

Hopefully, these tips will help you to become a more confident and dynamic speaker! For more tips, CLICK HERE to watch Julian Treasure’s TED Talk on “How to speak so that people want to listen.”

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Charisma: How to Match Your Verbal and Non-Verbal Messages

If you look up “charisma” in the dictionary, the definition will say something along the lines of: “a person with personal charm, persuasive and possessing high interpersonal skills.”  Clearly, charisma is a quality that one should want to possess, particularly in the communications field.

But how can we truly become more charismatic?

There are many qualities that can make a person charismatic. On a practical level, however, a person is thought to be charismatic when his verbal messages and his non-verbal messages are consistent.  This means that your words and your body language have to correspond with one another, and have to work together to create a stronger impact.  It may seem simple, but how exactly do you effectively do this?

5 tips for achieving correspondence between verbal and non-verbal messages:

  • Voice and tone – 38% of our first impressions are based on our ability to use our voice correctly.  What is considered the “proper” use of your voice?  Simply put, you should use a moderate and changeable variation of: volume (high/low), pace (quick/slow) and style (decisive/authoritative/soft/containing).
  • Facial expressions – it’s very difficult to listen with interest and gain a connection with someone who has an expressionless face.  We must ensure that we use varied facial gestures according to message we’re trying to convey and of course, we can’t forget to smile.  As a rule, people have an easier time connecting to and having a positive perception of people who smile at them.
  • Eye contact – in order to radiate credibility, honesty and intimacy with the person standing before us, we must ensure to make eye contact with all the people in the audience.  Don’t stay fixated on one person for too long though; make sure you are making eye contact with the entire audience.  Additionally, try not to look at your notes or presentation too much.  Keep engaging the audience to make sure not to lose them.
  • Shoulders – studies have shown that something that radiates high self-esteem is the shoulders.  That is, erect and straight shoulders send a message that a person can be counted on; strong shoulders give the impression that a person believes in himself. This, in turn, makes it easier to believe in this person and in his message.
  • Use of attention grabbers – in order for our message to be memorable and to create an experience as a derivative of the interaction with us, we must spice up our content with concrete examples, personal experiences, anecdotes, surprising data from recent studies, videos etc. As much as we might want our presentation to stand on its own, using extras can really help our message stick with the audience.

Charisma can be something that comes naturally to people, but it can also be taught and learned very easily through these simple steps. If you want others to be excited about what you’re saying, you need to be excited while saying it. By being passionate and energetic, your message will grab hold of an audience and make them feel the same way you do.

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4 Steps to Creating a Memorable 60-Second Pitch

This week, VAYOMAR’s trainers are taking part in the Mass Challenge Awards Ceremony, happening on October 29th. Over 1700 startups sent in applications in order to win $1.75 million dollars to further their startup. VAYOMAR helped each of the Top 26 Startups prepare a 60-second pitch to present at the awards show in front of 1500 potential investors. Imagine you’re the founder of one of these new startups, eager to expand and gain support from investors.  Would you be prepared if someone asked you to pitch your startup in just 60 seconds?  It sounds impossible.  How can you be expected to give all the necessary details in only one minute?  Believe it or not, 60 seconds is plenty of time to introduce yourself, your startup, and your goals.  All you have to do is follow these easy steps in order to create not just a 60-second pitch, but a GREAT 60-second pitch.

Step 1: The Opening

Every famous speech needs a powerful opening to capture the audience’s attention, and that’s exactly what your pitch needs.  Whatever it is you do, make it relatable to what you’re speaking about.  It could be a quote or a statistic, something dramatic to really pull them in.  It could be a question or an ask for a raise of hands, something to get the audience involved.  It could even be something as simple as wearing a funny accessory or holding a funny prop, something to make people look at you. You need to clearly communicate what it is you’re pitching within the first 10-15 seconds.

Step 2: The Essence

Now that you’ve introduced yourself in an interesting way, it’s time to move on to the bulk of your speech: what exactly your company is.  The trick here is to do it in the least amount of words as you possibly can.  There is no real correlation between the innovation of your company and the time it takes to talk about its core essence.  Your audience just needs to understand the importance of what you’re trying to say.  After another 15-20 seconds, you should have communicated the space your venture is in (i.e. transportation, technology, etc.), the value this idea brings, and the innovation.

Step 3: The Traction

30 seconds have gone by and you’ve already captured your audience’s attention and fully explained the core of your company.  Now is the time to tell your audience about the progress you’ve made.  They will need facts, not just ideas, to prove that you can actually further your company.  Talk about the money you’ve made so far, the advisors you’ve recruited, partnerships you’ve formed, anything to show that you’re serious about the future.  Talk about the team you’ve put together, where you want to improve upon or advance in the short- and long-term.  In these 15-20 seconds, you should prove to potential investors that you have a solid foundation and know how to take your company to the next level.

Step 4: The Conclusion

At the end of your pitch, you must clearly communicate what it is you want from your audience.  If it’s money for the company, potential partnerships, or something else, your audience must be made fully aware.  Thank the audience for their time, and your 5-10 seconds will have been worthwhile.

The goal here is to get face time with potential investors, so you need to be able to stand out. To learn more about how to give a great pitch and make it count, listen to this podcast created by one of our founders, Ariel Halevi!

“How to Build a Winning 60-Second Pitch”