This is the ‘Win with Stories’ newsletter. It’s focused on helping founders and executives navigate leadership, sales, PR and fund-raising. Every week I send an email with a career or communication message wrapped in a short story. I also share one or a few actionable tips to help you achieve your career and business goals.
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A college kid taught me a thing or two about pitching
‘I remember that night when I was dropping my friend Gauri(name changed) home, when a man started following us. Though I had to be strong for my friend, I was actually quite afraid.
Streetlights of the area weren’t working and it was pitch dark. This made matters worse. We decided to jog, and reached home. We outwitted that guy, but I realised something else.
That streetlights are pretty important and they need to work. Otherwise, they create challenges for people, especially women. That’s why we decided to work on this tech idea.’
This is how Santosh(name changed) started his mock pitch at the Smart India Innovation boot-camp organised organised by the AICTE at NIE(National Institute of Engineering) in Mysore.
While I was the facilitator for the session on how to ‘Pitch with Stories’, I felt I walked away with a learning.
What’s that? Let me share.
One communication tip for today:
Sell the problem, before you share the solution.
Santosh’s pitch got me hooked because of the problem. The anxiety of being followed by someone who may not have good intentions – it almost made me walk the same street he and his friend did.
But what I mostly notice is that founders, leaders and other professionals – don’t open with a problem. They just share a solution.
The first step of a good pitch is to establish why the problem you are solving should matter to the audience. In the case of Santosh, he narrated a personal story really well to make us care.
But even when you do not have a story to narrate, open with the problem. Then tell us why we should care.
That’s the tip for today: Sell the problem, before you share the solution.
A quick reminder on how I can help you:
- If you are a business leader or a founder of a mature startup wanting to sharpen your story, storytelling and leadership skills or even a speech or presentation, then I can help you. My coaching programs like ‘Story-flection’, ‘Ace Linkedin with Stories’ and ‘Inspiring Leader’ have helped CXOs and senior executives power their growth. The first 30-minute call is on me, write to me if you’d like to book my time
- If you are a corporate, MSME or late-stage startup looking to enhance leadership, communication, marketing and sales skills in your organisation, then I can help. My signature programs like ‘Lead with Stories’, ‘Movie-like Data Presentations’ and ‘Story punch for marketing and sales’ have helped many corporates and agencies multiply their success
- I am also available for keynotes, webinars and team-building sessions that incorporate storytelling.
That’s it from me today. Hope you found this newsletter useful 🙂
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