#42 Your Communication And Pitching Matter With Dominic Colenso And Fredrik Sandvall

In this illuminating episode Fredrik discusses with Dominic Colenso the vital components required for successful communication and pitching across a range of business contexts. The important elements for successful pitching and communication are all discussed enabling us all to understand how to successfully approach these vital aspects of business. Dominic Colenso – is the founder of Inflow Global a specialist communication training company working with businesses to help their people speak and perform under pressure, focusing on all aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication. KEY TAKEAWAYS Communication - How do you work with other people? A starting premise is always that everyone has the ability to communicate, we’re doing it all the time and we’re doing it in lots of different scenarios. Working with people on heightening their awareness and understanding how they’re coming across in different situations means they have more choice. When people understand what range, they have available to them they can dial things up, and certain things down depending on the context they are in. How do you really connect with a person? Putting spotlight on the audience, who you’re talking to and what their needs are and making sure you meet those needs are the key aims to be met. Communication is the transfer of energy between 2 or more human beings and when you’re the person driving the communication it’s your responsibility to take care of your audience and give to them what they need. Pitching – How can you get it right? It’s important to understand what are your hot buttons, what are the triggers? Be completely honest with yourself is there certain behaviour in other people that makes you tense? or are there patterns? e.g. in the way the room is set up. Rationalising the triggers enables you to be better mentally prepared. Preparation is the only way to bring those words to life. Rehearsing is absolutely vital this doesn’t mean you need to learn script it’s about understanding what your key messages are then saying them out loud as many ways as possible so when you’re in the situation your body knows what to do. The key is to make eye contact, be available to people in the room. Its important to make an impact when you enter room and you should move into the space with your head up and making eye contact. Start with something different and own the space. Engaging the audience and creating that equal relationship is vital. If you’re going in asking for money or investment then they are interviewing you, but you are also interviewing them there is a balance of power. If you go in and give it all away the end results and end relationship can be disastrous. The ‘call to action’ is a vital component, you need to be clear about what the next steps are, you’ve got to agree some way of moving forward – be upfront and ask. BEST MOMENTS “You have a responsibility to take your audience on that journey”. “There is always a balance –it’s your duty to try and understand.”  “Some people bring light to the room some people bring darkness” “In the realm of pitching – how do I influence and inspire other people?” “We begin to breathe in a way that helps pump adrenalin quicker, moving us to flight or fight mode.” “I like the whole idea of being an influencer, to be someone that gives so people are attracted to you that’s a massive thing in today’s society.” “Crazy thing is most of us we had it, we dared to do things then stuff happened and made boundaries for our whole life.” “I am always looking to open up dialogue to give the client or audience as much space as possible to tell me what they need, then I can tailor my offering to meet their needs.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Fredrik Sandvall, Invest in You: https://itunes.apple.com/pk/podcast/invest-in-you/id1353355236?mt=2 ABOUT THE HOST Serial entrepreneur Fredrik Sandvall loves sharing ideas and interviewing world-class entrepreneurs and influencers. Invest in You is about investments, entrepreneurs, personal development and doing fun things. He hopes to ensure you take action, helping others and yourself, plus enjoy the journey we call life. CONTACT METHOD Contact Fredrik Sandvall – Invest in You  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandvall/?originalSubdomain=uk Website: https://sandvallinvest.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FredrikinLondon Dominic Colenso – Inflow Globalwww.linkedin.com/in/dominiccolenso @dominiccolenso www.inflow.global