In 2009, Haroon Mirza’s start-up, CognoVision, was named most innovative
company by the Canadian Innovation Exchange. He attributes the accomplishment,
at least in part, to the pitch he delivered prior to being awarded the
prestigious title.
Shortly after winning, Mr. Mirza’s facial-recognition
software business was purchased by Intel for millions of dollars.
The pitch may be an art, not an exact science, but Mr. Mirza
has a few simple techniques he says can help anyone improve their public speaking:
Say the pitch out
loud as many times as possible in advance
Mr. Mirza always thought Steve Jobs was the best presenter
in the world. “He looks so natural. I remember I read somewhere that he spent
more than a month preparing for every presentation, and it made me think that
if Steve Jobs spends that much time preparing, how does anybody wing it?”
If forgetting lines and feeling self-conscious in front of
an audience are two things that make a presenter nervous, go through dry runs
to get used to the content, allowing greater flexibility to articulate it, and
familiarise yourself with performing.
You don’t know all
the answers
And that’s all right. Meticulous preparation is important,
and being able to answer any questions from prospective investors, venture
capitalists or anyone else for that matter, speaks to a presenter’s confidence
and knowledge of a product. However, not knowing all the answers does not mean
failure.
“If someone asks you a question and you don’t know the
answer, do not attempt to make it up on the spot,” Mr. Mirza advises. “These
people can smell BS and as soon as they do, you lose credibility. The best way
to handle the situation is to be honest; saying something like ‘I don’t have
that information at the moment but I’ll look into it immediately and be sure to
follow up.’”
Read
Seriously. Mr. Mirza thinks of it as investing in yourself.
When researching the people he thought were the best public speakers – Bill
Clinton, Steve Jobs – he noticed one thing they had in common was that they
were well-read. Exposure to so much material likely helped them articulate
their own.
“So I started reading more, I expanded my vocabulary, I
learned how to better articulate my ideas, and I think in this way the
presenter earns the respect of the audience.”
Storytelling as a
competitive advantage
The audience feeds off the energy of a presenter. When the
speaker is nervous, so is everyone else in the room. A confident, measured
delivery can help a presenter maintain control. That’s why Mr. Mirza tries to
make each presentation like telling a story.
“Say you’re presenting to a venture capitalist. If you’re a
great storyteller, you transfer that enthusiasm to the audience and you get
them feeling involved in what you’re saying. Excellent presentation skills are
an unfair advantage; when you’re really good and you make it look easy, it’s
unfair to everyone else who has to present against you.”
