Your speech, with the timing in it

Step 1 of 4

Step 1: The hook

The hook: who you are and why (Ethos)

Open with the moment, the image or the blunder that shows why you do this. No 'Hi, I'm X from Y'. A story is remembered 22 times better than a fact.

  • Show, don't tell: don't say 'I am persistent', tell the situation that proved it.
  • Small is good: a kitchen table, a text message, a Sunday evening. The more concrete the image, the better it sticks.
Example ('Operation Hamster'): 'When I was 9, I wasn't allowed to have pets. So I launched Operation Hamster and hid them in my closet. It taught me early on how creative and persistent I am...'

Step 2: The problem

The problem and your solution (Pathos and Logos)

Name what hurts in your audience's words, not your marketing department's. Make them nod. Only then what you do, and what it concretely gives them.

  • Pain first, solution second. Whoever brings the solution too early is selling an answer to a question nobody has yet.
  • One number somebody can repeat is worth more than ten benefits.
Example: 'Sales managers don't lack product knowledge. They have teams running 40 slides while the client checks their phone after 2 minutes. We take the slides away and put the story in their place: after one training the client sat up again.'

Step 3: Your ask

Your offer or ask (Peroratio)

Close with one offer or one question that takes a yes or a no. No three options, no 'let me know', no summary of what you just said.

  • Not 'thanks for your time', but 'when do we plan the follow-up?'
  • Bookending: pose a question or set an image in your first sentence, and answer it precisely in your last.
Example: 'Give me one team and one month. If your team lead has their Sunday evening back after that, we talk to the board. Deal?'

Step 4: Your audience

Who is this version for? Pick one, at most two. No choice gives a neutral tone.

Your audience: the five modes from the training

The same pitch lands differently with a lion than with an owl. Pick the mode that fits your audience and the script gets the tone, the examples and the ask that go with it.

  • Powerful (lion): control, decisiveness, bringing interests together, results.
  • Social (sheep): connection, shared vision, trust.
  • Curious (monkey): discovering, experimenting, innovation.
  • Rational (owl): structure, logic, facts, control.
  • Organic (panda): calm, balance, natural growth.
Example: For an owl: 'At the first team the roster took two hours a week. Now five minutes.' For a sheep: 'My mother has her Sunday evening back. I want that for every team lead.'