David Julian Price tells Jo Saunders that rehearsing a pitch 10-20 times or more makes it sound natural instead of robotic. He warns that flashy clothing or revealing outfits distract audiences from your message, though consistent visual choices like hair color can strengthen your brand if you're already established.
So David, I've done your workshop and I've created a pitch that's really working, is going to work for me. How do I get really fluent at that so it becomes almost second nature?
Okay, so Jo, who's your favourite actor? Make one up.
I don't know, Sean Bean.
Fine. So when Sean Bean goes in front of a camera, do they record the first time he's ever said those words?
Probably not.
How many times do you reckon he's said them?
Oh gosh, 100? Could be, well, I was going to say hundreds. Hopefully not, because he's a pretty good actor, I would think. But at least probably a good half dozen, maybe more, depending.
More likely hundreds.
Oh, really?
Okay, here we go. But let's not go overboard. Let's say he's practiced it 10 or 20 times. What's the likelihood that he's going to deliver the lines well? High.
Yeah, yeah.
But if he went in front of the camera having not rehearsed, what's the likelihood?
It's going to be robotic, or he's going to be in his head going, what was the next line?
Exactly.
Pitching.
Exactly the same.
Okay.
You cannot expect to stand up and wing it, or ad-lib it, or not having worked out what you're going to say, or more importantly, or just as importantly, how you're going to say it. That's the delivery part. So the design is the words, the delivery is really important. And that leads on to a whole range of other things, Jo, that we can talk about other times. But what you look like, where you stand, how you stand, what clothes you choose to wear at this networking event, Because everything about all of that that I've just said adds to the memorability of the pitch.
Yeah.
And you want to make sure that your pitch is memorable for the right reasons, not for the wrong reasons.
So if I turn up with a really low cut with the boobs hanging out, I'm going to be remembered as that, not what I actually said?
Probably.
Not because my boobs were particularly flattering, but just—
And the interesting thing about your particular example is Both the men and the women in the audience are likely to remember you for the wrong reasons.
Oh, the dress. Like, I'm just thinking, you know, if you're wearing even bright colored dresses or big patterns, bold patterns, short, you're being analyzed. And the person's not listening, are they? They're looking at what you're wearing or what you're not wearing.
Well, I'm not a fashion expert, but broadly, yes. So I can't— I'm not qualified to tell you about that. As a woman, I can certainly tell a man how they should dress.
Yeah.
But I certainly don't get into giving women fashion advice. I don't think that's the right place for me.
But I think if you've got to come down, I suppose it comes down to your own style, doesn't it? But also a bit of a cross-check. Is this going to be distracting in any way?
That's right. Yes.
And if it is, cover it up.
Wear something else.
Something less patterny, a bit more subtle and focus more on your message rather than Yeah. All this. So a quick question then, having super, as you know, I've changed my hair color a lot. Is that just too much of a distraction then?
Well, your hair color, the change of your hair color is part of your brand and you've built that up over years. So I think for you, Jo Saunders, people who know you, if they know they're about to meet you, in a meeting, I reckon a lot of people would think, I wonder what color hair Jo will have today.
That's the most common comment I get.
And I, and my personal view is I think that works for you.
Yeah.
Because you've built it as part of your brand.
Yeah. Yeah. So this is subtle today.
Yes, very subtle today.
My father-in-law said, oh, your hair's very subtle. I said, it's actually blue, you know, it just looks very dark.
