The Art of the Pitch: Persuasion and Presentation Skills that Win Business

240 Pages·2012·0.88 MB·English

by  Peter Coughter (auth.)

The Art of the
Pitch
The Art of the
Pitch
Persuasion and Presentation
Skills That Win Business
PETER COUGHTER
An Advertising Age Publication
Top photo on page 144 and both photos on page 145 courtesy of Avery
Oldfield; bottom photo page 144 courtesy Marc Andrew Stephens.
the art of the pitch
Copyright © Peter Coughter, 2012.

All rights reserved.
First published in 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United
States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New
York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the
world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers
Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above
companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United
States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-0-230-12051-8 ISBN 978-1-137-51233-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-51233-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Coughter, Peter.
The art of the pitch : persuasion and presentation skills that win
business / by Peter Coughter.
p. cm.
“An Advertising Age Publication.”
1. Business presentations. 2. Persuasion (Psychology) I. Title.
HF5718.22.C68 2012
658.4’52—dc23
2011023387
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Letra Libre Inc.
First edition: January 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Cynthia
Contents
Foreword by Akira Kagami ix
Introduction 1
Chapter One Everything Is a Presentation 7
Chapter Two It’s Not about You 27
With contributions from Bill Westbrook and James P. Othmer
Chapter Three How We Connect 51
With a contribution from Jeff Goodby
Chapter Four The Power of Emotion 69
With a contribution from Mike Hughes
Chapter Five How to Be 83
With contributions from Darren Moran,
Chris Jacobs, and Lance Jensen
Chapter Six Authenticity 111
With contributions from Gareth Kay,
Alex Bogusky, and Hal Curtis
The Art of the Pitch
Chapter Seven Death by Deck 131
With contributions from Bruce Bildsten and Mark Fenske
Chapter Eight Organizing the Presentation 151
With a contribution from Anne Bologna
Chapter Nine Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse 165
With contributions from Peter Krivkovich, Darren
Moran, Pam Scott, John Butler, and Sally Hogshead
Chapter Ten Punctuation 189
With contributions from Cindy Gallop and Don Just
Chapter Eleven You Never Know 213
With contributions from Jeffrey Steinhour and Andy Grayson
Afterword Standing Up 225
Acknowledgments 231
Notes 235
Index 237
viii
Foreword
I
’ve never met another teacher like Peter-san.
Presentation is a skill. To advance in the skill, we often
resort to a formula of techniques. Because in one sense, to
teach is to shape someone into a model, and that at a glance is
most efficient.
But Peter-san’s method is different.
What he demonstrated in our students was how to draw out
their individual characteristics and let them discover their ability
on their own.
Peter-san does not “teach.”
“Presentation isn’t only about words”—that is one of Peter-
san’s points. But can an American teacher educate a Japanese, in
a Japanese-language presentation? Impossible? The results were
amazing. The presentation skills of the Japanese participants im-
proved dramatically.
ix
The Art of the Pitch
Peter-san’s method extends beyond country and language
boundaries.
Finally, the most important fact of all is that what we learned
from Peter-san lasts.
We easily forget what we are taught, but it’s hard to forget
what we discover on our own. Our students still retain in their
hearts what Peter-san helped them to realize.
So the way I see it, Peter-san is not a teacher, he is a guide to
discoveries. Doshi is a Japanese word for a person who guides
another, a guru.
I think the word suits him. Thank you, Peter-Doshi.
—Akira Kagami, executive officer and global
executive creative director, Dentsu Inc.
x
The Art of the
Pitch