Psychology Today
- Repetition is the key to getting people’s attention. Many entrepreneurs mistakenly assume that their passion will cause their message to immediately stand out above the din of today’s information overload. In fact, most people today have developed filters to ignore unsolicited inputs until they have heard it several times in both written and verbal form.
- Postulate the message in a context important to the receiver. Tune your message to each receiver’s situation or context. Avoid abstract or technical declarations that may sound like an effort to impress or mislead your audience with your intelligence. Use specific value propositions rather than fuzzy terms like easier to use, better and faster.
- Use contrasting story scenarios to illustrate the impact. Stories are often more convincing than simple statements of fact. If you can integrate the receiver directly into the story, the potential impact is even greater. The power of contrast, or side-by-side comparison of outcomes, is an effective mover of people from old beliefs to new ones.
- Personalize your message to match receiver background. Whether approaching investors, partners or customers, you need to listen first to find a personal intersection of interest with your idea. If the person is creative and intuitive, don’t hit them with a logical and analytical message. Establish a relationship or do some homework first if you can.
- Use friends and advisors as sources of warm introductions. Everyone is more prone to listen and believe new people brought to them by someone they know in common, especially if that connection has strong relevant experience or expertise. Even if it takes longer to arrange such a meeting, your credibility gain and impact may be well worth it.
- Materialize your idea into a prototype or demo. People always put more credibility into something they can touch and feel, versus mere words and arm waving. What you are visualizing in your mind’s eye is not so obvious to others, especially investors who will likely not have your depth of expertise in the product domain you represent.
- Present evidence of interest and excitement from others. Social media is a powerful tool for testing your idea with minimal cost and risk with a huge potential for spreading and amplifying your message to the right people. The evidence of 1,000 people responding positively to your message is much more effective than you alone pitching.
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