Derren Brown is now a household name thanks to his talent for illusion, hypnotism and mind-reading.
Ultimately though, much of Derren’s effectiveness lies in his ability to surreptitiously manage other people’s thought processes.
He’s able to encourage them to make the associations he wants them to make – and they’re not even aware he’s doing it.
It’s all about steering people towards a conclusion you’ve pre-determined, and you can do it without a jazzy waistcoat or a glamorous assistant.
Often during a pitch situation, under the pressure of time, you can remove the logic flow from the pitch and short-hand the journey for your audience.
Its a mistake.
In telling the full story of how you got to “your answer” you can set the parameters for expectations, and keep your audience on track.
It may sound a little manipulative, it’s not, it just encourages everyone to focus on the same end-point.
While we’re on the subject of mind control, beware of the tendency for self-hypnosis.
These are the moments when your pitch team has spent so long convincing each other of the brilliance of the pitch that it’s possible to fall under the spell of a shared delusion.
Get someone outside the team to give your pitch the once over before you set off.
Now, try eating this onion as if it’s an apple…
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