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The better deal

I’ve seen many pitches end in frustration as a result of begging for a yes. Sometimes that works. But often it doesn’t.

The thing is: a pitch is not about you making a good deal. It’s about the decision maker making an even better deal. They might be in the mood for doing you a favor. But don’t count on it. Usually, they are not. They are much more likely to give you a “yes” when they see how it’s a no-brainer deal for them.

That’s not about undervaluing yourself or agreeing to terms that are less favorable than you deserve. Nor is it about overpromising or making things sound better than they are.

It is about actually being the better deal.

The beauty of it is that in a great partnership, both sides feel like they got the better deal. They have money that you don’t have, you have ideas that they don’t have. They have connections that you don’t have, you have innovations that they don’t have.

So, why are you the better deal? There’s no need for begging when you are. (All you need to do is tell a true story about your idea.)

Handcrafted plates

Plates used to be handmade. Today, almost all plates are machine made. Most people are just fine with this but some still care for handcrafted plates.

The same will probably soon be true for copywriting. Or any writing, for that matter.

Just like with plates there’s nothing wrong with this. Machine made plates work fine. In fact, in many regards they are superior to handmade plates. More so, machines allow us to make things that no human could make.

And yet, there’s value in the knowledge that something is handcrafted. It’s just that most people won’t really care.

Which means that understanding your audience and getting clarity about what they really do care about will be a very useful insight to help determine what place AI should have in your communication.

Moments of silence

When we’re about to give a talk we’re mostly concerned about the words we’re going to say. We’re not so used to think about the space in between the words, the silence. But it’s useful in many places, for example

… before you start to speak so that the room becomes quiet. You don’t want to talk against a murmur of words. You want the full attention of your audience from the very first word.

… in between two thoughts so that your audience has a chance of digesting the first thought before digging into the next one.

… after an important statement so that your audience can let it sink in and transfer your words into their own situation. That’s what makes your talk concrete for them. The more concrete your talk becomes, the greater the chance that they will find your thoughts valuable.

… at the end of the talk to enjoy the applause.

… in the Q&A session to give yourself enough time to understand the question and come up with a thoughtful response.

… after the talk, back at your desk to reflect on reactions.

Some of these moments will be very brief, some longer. Noticing them is the first step towards being able to control them.

How I wrote my first book

When my Physics course in (the german equivalent of) high school started, my teacher made us an offer: “For every single topic that we cover over the course of the next three years, you can hand me in a text covering what we learnt in your own words. I promise that I will meticulously proofread every text and give you feedback on how well you understand the material, how well it’s argued and how well it’s written.”

Three classmates took the offer, including me. Of those three, I was the only one to do this for every single topic. When I finished school, I had basically written a textbook on school physics, mercilessly edited by my teacher.

That practice has served me well ever since. I’m thankful for this opportunity and for the generosity that my teacher has shown.

I’m also baffled at how often people will just pass on opportunities to grow.

Not so easy

Most questions that are worth investing the time to prepare a presentation for don’t have an easy yes-or-no answer.

If there would be an easy answer, we wouldn’t even bother with gathering everyone in a room. We would just send a memo to inform everyone about the answer.

One of the problems with meetings is that a lot of trivial stuff gets disproportionately overblown and floods the attention of participants. So, they tune out. And start not paying attention to presentations.

Another problem with meetings is when you pretend that there is an easy answer when in fact there isn’t. That’s a huge potential for frustration and a great way to start into fights.

Treating the team as smart takes you a long way. Some things are complex.

Smart teams don’t need complex things dumbed down. They need a way to make the complexity accessible. They need simple words to explain difficult concepts. And even then they appreciate it when we acknowledge that there’s room for different opinions on the matter.

Body language tricks

The biggest lever to appearing confident on stage isn’t body language. It’s saying what you mean.

When we don’t believe in the words we use, it will almost always feel at least a little weird because our body wants to do one thing (according to what we actually believe in) while our brain wants it to do another thing (according to what we pretend to believe in).

Most of us are not professional actors. If you lack confidence in your words, you’re not just going to trick your audience with one or two hacks from the last body language workshop. (And let’s just face it: even some professional actors aren’t that good at it.) While most audiences are not body language pros, either, most are pretty good at sensing a mismatch between what our body does and what our words say. They probably can’t pinpoint what’s off exactly but they can somehow sense that something’s off.

That dynamic changes when you switch to saying what you mean, using words you deeply believe in. It won’t magically turn you into a confident speaker, but it will give a much greater impact to anything you do to amplify your message, mostly because message and delivery will be consistent.

Rational decision

Reminder: As humans we love to rationalize our decisions – rather than make rational decisions.

That’s true for your customers, too. Therefore, it’s useful to understand how their decisions are actually formed. When you understand the real reasons behind their decision, enough good reasons to justify the decision will usually be there (if your product is any good, of course).

Being right

It’s easy to win forgiveness for being wrong; being right is what gets you into real trouble. – Bjarne Stroustrup

As a leader, it’s your job to create an environment where everyone can say what needs to be said.

Repeating yourself

Say something often and people will start to believe it.

Repetition doesn’t make the thing you repeat any more true or false but people are more likely to believe a statement when they hear it more often (that’s true even for smart thinkers).

Bullshitters know and embrace that. For them, that’s easy because true or false doesn’t matter the least bit to a bullshitter. The only thing they care for is whether a narrative serves their goal. And so, they repeat whatever statement serves them best.

It’s party time for them when others chime in to the repetitions, preferably mass media, the press or the social media mob.

In light of that it breaks my heart every time I speak to brilliant people who say that they don’t want to repeat themselves, e.g. because they think it’s impolite.

I don’t think it’s impolite at all. If it’s true it deserves to be said repeatedly. Looking at how often bullshitters repeat their bullshit, it might even be necessary.

Don’t shy away from putting your best thoughts on hot rotation.

Valuing my time

In a fast paced world like ours, attention is among the most precious resources of any audience.

Which makes the ability to find the words that glue your audience to your lips (or their screen) invaluable when you’re a content creator.

And yet, as a content consumer there’s one thing I value even more: Getting to the point.

I appreciate a good story and I admire your skills in creating tension with your story. But I don’t appreciate you wasting my time with tension that leads nowhere, tension that’s just there to keep me hooked … and hooked … and hooked … and … you get the idea.

The creators I keep coming back to are the ones who value my time. They grab my attention and get me in quick. But they let me get out just as quick – at the earliest possible time, not the latest.

They give me the context I need. They give me the info I want. And then they trust me with the decision to come back tomorrow for what else they have to say.

Which I will. (Unlike with time wasters.)

Spread the Word

Dr. Michael Gerharz

Dr. Michael Gerharz