Elizaveta (her real name was changed to preserve the confidentiality of the client) was getting ready for the most important day of her life, or rather, for a dialogue with a potential investor.
Elizabeth studied the class, wrote down all the important details, and memorized all the presentation material. Believing that she was ready, she went to the meeting, constantly repeating the memorized text in her head so as not to be mistaken.
When she arrived at the meeting, she was very worried and kept scrolling through the text of the presentation in her head, and she began her story. The investor listened attentively to Elizabeth, but after 5 minutes of her monologue, he began to get distracted, “yawn” and the look on his face changed. Due to her state of nervous excitement and averted gaze at the ceiling, Elizabeth didn’t notice the investor’s decline in interest and continued to present her idea, as if reading from a piece of paper.
For 10 minutes, the candidate sat and listened to a boring, emotionless, and completely memorized presentation. When his patience snapped, he stood up, shook hands with Elizabeth, and asked her to leave.
Elizabeth was shocked by the behavior of the investor, and very disappointed with herself.
What reason prompted the investor to end the presentation?
During her presentation, Elizabeth didn’t pay attention to the emotional background of the meeting and the behavior of the candidate. She was so engrossed in the monologue she recited so diligently that she didn’t pay attention at all to the fact that her presentation came across as a boring lecture. Her goal was to present the information she had learned as quickly and correctly as possible. This was the reason why the investor didn’t want to continue communicating with her.
Two rules to avoid Elizabeth's mistakes.
Speaking to a person in a “canned” speech, you will never interest him in your idea. People immediately sense whether the speech is memorized in advance, or if the story comes naturally, with their original thoughts, based on the desire and interest of their interlocutor.
It is important to control the emotions of the interlocutor during the dialogue. If at the moment of a conversation you observe boredom, negativity, or irritation in your partner, you need to stop immediately, understand the reason and do everything possible to eliminate it.
Six rules of what to do?
- Control the other person's emotions.
- Don't engage in rehearsed, boring phrases.
- Do not be afraid of a negative reaction from the candidate.
- Engage your listeners in the dialogue.
- Study the class “Searching for an investor”. In it, you will find a large section on how to properly conduct a dialogue.
- Address the reason for the negativity right away, not at the end of your conversation.
Thanks to the “Search for an Investor” class, Elizaveta was able to get in touch with another candidate, make a competent, interesting presentation and call the investor to action and work with her.
At the time of writing this story, Elizabeth has been living in the United States for several months.