Express Yourself To Success » Stop The Show With Your Pitch

by Laurie Wilhelm
Why is it that sometimes we just can’t take ‘no’ for an answer?
Now, I’m not talking about letting go of an opportunity a lifetime without a fight or not standing up for what …

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Stop The Show With Your Pitch

by Cindy Yantis

In this short article by Cindy Yantis, she shares some tips on public speaking by outlining what actors do when they deliver their role. Her recommendation to then rehearse (and rehearse, and rehearse!) is vital if you want to improve. This method of public speaking gives you another way to approach your presentations and deliver your speeches.

Here’s a piece of news that may surprise you. Some of our best and most Award-winning actors are indeed methodical planners, contrary to wide-spread belief, and the way they get to the performance is through a careful, tried and true method of breaking down a script and peeling back the layers of their character.

They break it apart scientifically and then put it together in a way that is unique to them and them alone. Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day Lewis & Meryl Streep are three brilliant examples of analytical actors who dissect their roles like a med student to a cadaver. And, their performances are renowned. Who can forget Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lector’s chilling persona in “Silence of the Lambs?” That came from studied analysis and rehearsal.

Thinking like an actor will enable you to make bolder, more interesting and enticing presentations or pitches. Here are some tips on how:

Break down your “script” into beats – divide your presentation into separate, distinct thoughts.

Define the objective or goal of each beat – what are you trying to say in one or two sentences?

Define the roles in the script – what is your primary persona in each section or thought? Teacher, peer, expert, convincer, closer?

Re-format each beat focusing on the specific intention of your defined “roles.”

Now, put it all together and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Videotape it, show it to others, really get it into your bones so you can be present in the room. Then, get ready for the accolades and applause for your Broadway-worthy presentation!