A few weeks ago we heard  from Chelsea manager Ancelotti about “a word in  Italy: trascinatore”. It means the player that pulls the group together. John Terry is a trascinatore at Chelsea, as is Drogba and as is Capello for England.

Churchill was a trascinatore! In his just published biography, Churchill As Warlord, Max Hastings says, “the Dunkirk spirit was not spontaneous.  It was created by the rhetoric and bearing of one man, displaying powers that will define political leadership for the rest of time”.

New boys on the block like Obama and Cameron have a long way to go.

In the world of pitching the role of ‘pitch leader’ is often too readily assigned. It goes to the person who is most experienced, who knows the client,  who is most senior or, sometimes, most available. Not, as it should, to he or she is who is demonstrably a leader, a trascinatore.

In practice, most groups will not have the luxury of  ‘leadership’ choice. They go with the people they have, perhaps competent managers but not natural leaders.  However, it is through practice that leadership can be demonstrated -for at least the duration of  the pitch!

How?  The clues are supplied by Churchill, “the rhetoric and the bearing”.

 Whilst no one can emulate the great man, through frequent rehearsal, of both words and manner, they can move from competent manager to dynamic, inspiring leader. As Olivia Mitchell of www.speakingaboutpresenting.com says “the difference between good and great is rehearsal”.

And a leader ‘being great’ will raise perception, and evaluation, of the entire pitch.

She cites Blair’s scrupulously maintained tan, balanced diet and faultless body mass index, jogger Sarkozy’s spartan regime and poseur-in-chief Berlosconi with hair transplants and cosmetic work. All examples of an “age of image-obsessed personality politics….but no one expects a senior economist- Mervyn King, for instance -to jog like Boris”.

AA Gill writes that “almost every medium for entertainment or edification is myopically lookist, sizeist and pulchritudinist… even opera singers can’t be fat anymore”. He then contrasts this with the success of  Andrew Marr, “who has a face for radio and a voice for mime”.  He succeeds with a punchy delivery and because he is “bright and perceptive and just a touch iconoclastic”.

Marr is not a bad role model for business.  Energy, exuberance, excitement and passion will outperform any beauty formula!

“Maybe some coaching could of been done so that Mr Griffin could of answered any question articulately”.

What might such coaching have achieved?

For starters, he would have been better prepared.  Whilst few could have anticipated the extent to which ratings hungry  BBC would stage a lynching, he should have anticipated and prepared for hostile questions.

Setting aside the bizarre  to unacceptable nature of his replies, just by rehearsing them he would have come across more persuasively, almost likeable.  A considered pause before  rushing in (fool-like?), a calmer more measured tone and a more relaxed, comfortable  posture.  All would have signalled confidence.

Fortunately for him most of his fellow panellist-opponents performed equally badly.  Jack Straw assumed the ranting role with an over prepared, over-the-top polemic, Chris Hune made no impression and clever Bonnie Greer was too clever. The only natural, and therefore persuasive, one was Sayeeda Warsi.

Fortunate too, because it upped the sympathy vote, that the normally urbane Dimbleby chose the role of attack dog, leading his savage pack, the carefully selected audience.

Great viewing figures for the BBC but Griffin would have got more out of  it with a little coaching. I am not volunteering.

1. Understanding the key decision criteria.

Decisions tend not to relate to lots of policy content, but to the answers to more emotive issues, well expressed by Polly Toynbee.  “..What kind of people are you and do I like your leader? Do you lift the spirit with hope for a better world?  What’ s the difference between you”?

2. Teamwork.

Labour came across as a loose knit group of individuals with differences less well concealed. The Conservatives, as anticipated, had a dodgy Boris moment but placing him at the start of proceedings lessened its impact. The serried ranks seated behind Cameron, whilst somewhat reminiscent of a Red Square parade, reinforced sense of team.

3. Individual performances.

For Labour only Mandelson stood out. (post dated Sept 30th). Boris was charismatic and entertaining, but it was the newly mature, restrained and ’sober, honest, unflambuoyant’ performances of Osborne and Cameron which made the telling impact. Brown was same old.

4. Core theme.

Labour didn’t have one, the Conservatives did. “Brown launched a battering  ram of policies, so many that his arguments were obscured.  In contrast Cameron’s case was clear…” (Independent) Most commentators reflected his core message, ” there is such a thing as society but it’s not the same as the state”.

5. Leadership.

This in the  newly friendly Sun, ” The Tory leader’s body language sent out a clear message: ‘I mean business’.  Smiles were rare and he used few hand gestures. He was relaxed throughout and made good eye contact. His body language  supported the serious tone, saying, ‘ I have grown as a leader’. It helped him come across more effectively than Mr Brown did”.

6. Use of visual  aids!

Both parties exploited the wives. Personally, I preferred Mrs Brown’s unabashed flaunting of topend design to the demure M&S numbers of Mrs Cameron (whose own bags retail for around £950). Quentin Letts on Cameron,  “I suppose this was a manipulation of the wife every bit as blatant as Gordon Brown wheeling out Sarah…”

A  final thought.  It is never much fun pitching as the incumbent. The decision is, probably, going against you. To combat this it is no good defending the past. You must promise a better future. You will have to pitch more powerfully than the opponents. You will need to introduce new blood into the team and its leadership!!

So, for him, not only was it vital that he delivered the courageous realism that his party policy called for.  It was even more important that his performance, on this very public platform and this last Conference before the election, transformed perception of him.  After all, it was a single platform speech in Blackpool three years ago, that did it for Cameron.

The consensus is that he succeeded. ..”an indisputable step forward in his development as a political figure”. What worked for him?

The content, of course. “Mr Serious gains credibility with painful message” and, ” His honesty in the face of the facts means that he grew in stature”.  All this was reinforced by his repeated mantra, “We are all in this together”!

So, the words were strong, very strong, and he may well have written most of them himself for the autocue!

For me though, what gave him new stature was his delivery.  Not simply the strong, serious, sober  tone most have commented on. This undoubtedly helped the new maturity.

Not commented on but, to my eyes, the most powerful element, was his non-body language.  His stillness, his lack of flambouyant gesture, his resistance to milking applause all signalled the confidence of someone who knows he has arrived.

First obstacle was the technical evaluation which let them down four years ago. This time, and with acknowleged advice of Mike Lee of the London bid, they learnt from experience and arrived at Copenhagen as favourites. This was the position of Paris four years ago.

Unlike Paris, they, like London, pitched ‘heart and soul’, brilliantly. They were best on the day, a day when political manoevering takes a back seat since the IOC members vote anonymously.  Based on reports from Copenhagen, these are some of the things Rio did best.

They cemented the personal relationships. In the few days preceding the final, IOC allow direct solicitation of  members. It looks as if President Lula, who had been deeply and personally involved for years, was known by each and every one of them! (Four years ago Blair’s big contribution was meeting separately some 40 members).

Obama’s fleeting visit may have impressed but it would not have wooed .

In his presentation Lula employed the ‘killer visual’!  A map of the world highlighting host cities showed how his continent had been ignored. (30 in Europe, 12 in North America and 5 in Asia).  There were some ‘killer’ words too. “It is time to redress the balance.  It will serve to inspire the 180  million young people on this continent…. You will see for yourselves the passion, energy and creativity of the Brazilian people”.

After the London bid Seb Coe said to me that their historic win was down to them making an “emotional connection”.  That is what did it for Rio. As Jacques Rogges said about their emotional approach and pitch film, ” Live your passion struck a chord with my fellow members”

Not surprising was some  very clever content. Labour needed to fight and think “like insurgents, not incumbents”.

Also, not surprising but telling, was his use of  personal anecdote. “I did not choose this party.  I was born into it.  It is in my blood and in my bones”.  And most quoted, “If I can come back, we can come back!”(thunderous applause to this)

Not surprising either was the time spent on rehearsal.  “I don’t know how many mirrors Peter Mandelson broke practising his speech but it was worth it”. (Times). “They listened to his rehearsed mea culpa…”( DMail).

What was surprising,  particularly for one not known as an orator, was his theatricality.  Unafraid, he went for the emotional jugular. With dramatic gesture, facial expression, oddly varied tone, but very much in command. It was pure performance!

“Mandy the magician stole the show”. “Everyone, absolutely everyone, was spell bound…we were all riding an emotional rollercoaster”. “He was bold, he was big, he was bravura”. “It was pure Vegas showman…it lifted morale, entranced and enflamed”.

As Quentin Letts wrote about this ‘piratical’ performance from the podium, ” What was striking yesterday was the theatricality of his oratory.  And yet, on the day it worked. The delegates gorged themselves.  At last they had heard something surprising, something confident”.

An earlier post on, June 16th, was headed ‘Mandelson. A Lesson in Confidence’.  It concluded, “love him or hate him but learn from him. Know your brief and ‘ooze’ confidence.  And this you can achieve through rehearsal, lots of it”.

A special pitchcoach award to Mandy!

 The energy teams win more often.

 Paul Arden in his ‘world’s best selling book’, “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be”, wrote “energy is 75% of the job.   If you haven’t got it, be nice”.

 When it comes to pitching, even the sleepiest of teams will be energized by the spirit of competition and the adrenalin in the room, so generating more energy, winning energy, should be the challenge. Not as most teams believe, the charts, content et al. The issue is one of harnessing and managing it.

 The notion of ‘energy’ is more than the sensible project timing plan that most will put in place for any pitch. Don’t just think time, think energy.  Here are a couple of practical energy amplifying ideas.

 First, the concept of ‘morning energy’. Most of us are fresher and have more energy at the start of the day so early morning time will produce better thinking, faster. Particularly is this true in the team context.  As the day wears on, client issues distract!  Give the pitch preparation morning priority.

 Second, avoid the ‘macho’ energy trap, the one that says you have never failed to deliver on time because everyone worked till midnight the day before the pitch. People put off rehearsals till the last minute, when they are too tired to care, and it shows the next day.

 Don’t waste energy.  Do the worst thing, first thing.   Start with a ruthless timing plan which keeps the energy up every day and, most important, in each rehearsal meeting.  When the team are each given their responsibilities, make them think Carpe Diem. 

 Make the content watertight, which is the rational part of the presentation, but remember the winning ingredient will be emotional.  Does the client want, need and love you.  This will only come with the E word.

(This bit of energy now also on www.gorkanapr.com)

First of all, she appears to leave absolutely nothing to chance.  Her ‘bitchy’ brother recounts how every single minute of his sister’s day is planned and accounted for. The interviewer, Dan Cairns, paints a picture of ‘logistical and organisational rigour. Discipline, control, precision’.

Then she creates great content! As she says ” the song comes first”, from the early Material Girl through to Like A Prayer  to becoming the most successful female recording artist of all time. However she is well aware that, while many appreciate her for the music, more buy into her as a “sort of cultural phenomenon.”

This is where her unique genius as a performer kicks in. She understands that people listen to her songs and react visually more than musically, that they remember the ’imagistic’ things, cone bras, burning crosses, what she terms ‘manipulation, provocation’. 

Finally, one commentator suggested her success was down to her ability to absorb knowledge to keep one step ahead.  Her classy reply:

“Well, yeah. We can all take in information.  It’s how we regurgitate it that makes us different. Right?”