I’m currently reading “What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School” by Mark McCormack, which even 40 years after its publication, I can highly recommend.
It’s one of those classic pieces that remind us that despite living in such fast moving times, some things just never change.
For example, this timeless statement from the marketing chapter of that book: “If you can’t sell with enthusiasm, the lack of it will be infectious.”
It’s still so true from my experience. When you think about presentations and pitches, I’m sure that you’ve seen polished presentations utterly fail because the speaker just didn’t believe in what they said.
You can hire an expensive design agency to design beautiful slides for you, hire an eloquent speech writer, and go through body language and voice coaching. But if you don’t believe in the words you use, that will always shine through. Your audience will take notice.
On the flip side, if you do believe in your words, if you’re passionate about the thing that you are trying to teach, sell, or market, then passion beats eloquence every single time.
