Pitching Your Idea 2- Speaking Up

Wanda Plimmer, who is featured in The Right Sisters: Women Inventors Tell Their Stories, was an actress before she was an inventor. Her skills as an actress have served her well in presenting her idea to others. After Wanda invented her Nursing Nest, she decided to pitch it to a large company.

In the Right Sisters, she tells this hilarious story about getting through to the “right” person.

I called the corporate headquarters and told them I had a product that I wanted to present to the person responsible for buying breast-feeding pillows. The receptionist told me to send them a sample and they would take it from there. I insisted that I needed to talk to the buyer, but she said she couldn’t give that information and ended the call.

I waited a few minutes and called back, disguising my voice in a twangy, southern accent: “I’d like t’ speak t’ the person who buys breast-feedin’ pillas?” The operator seemed about to transfer me, but I stopped her and said, “Couldja just gi’ me her name?”

“Marcia Costello,” she said,

“Oh, thaaank you, honey,” I said and she patched me through. I reached Marcia’s assistant, and when I told her I wanted to present my product to Marcia, I got the same instructions: “Just send us a sample.” So, I said, “Thank you, very much,” and ended the call.

A few minutes later, I called back a third time, using yet a different voice. I said, “Marcia Costello, please. This is Wanda Plimmer from Peaceful Peas.” When I finally got to speak to Marcia, I felt like I’d reached the great Wizard of Oz. I told her I had five products that I was ready to present including the Nursing Nest.

“I can’t see you for another three weeks,” Marcia responded.

Keeping my voice level in the face of this thrilling news, I said in a very businesslike manner, “That will be fine. What time is good for you? I had assumed a totally different persona from the ones who busted their way through by phone.

Wanda used her talents to good advantage to get through to the right person. However, most of us have not been actresses in a previous life, so getting up the nerve to talk to people about our ideas is sometimes a tough thing to do.

If you lack confidence in the public speaking arena, I recommend that you get help from those who are more expert and practice what you learn. For example, Lisa Marshall offers some wonderful guidelines on her podcasts at The Public Speaker. Check them out.

And please let us know your tips for overcoming public speaking angst.