How They Say It
I had lunch last week with an entrepreneur who has spent more than his share of time over the last few years raising money. I was describing for him a businesses I'm looking at and he was quick to note from how I described it that I found the business quite compelling. When I asked what made his say so, he pointed to my tone of voice. According to my friend, he has gotten to the point where he can tell how interested a potential investor is by the tone of his or her voice on an answering machine.
I have no doubt that he's right. In my mind, venture capital is an exercise in great optimism. Each business you hear about has the potential to be the next great company. And when you hear a compelling story, you are driven to learn more. The companies that get funded are the ones that grow more compelling with each additional piece of information. And given the infrequency with which that is the case, it is hard for venture capitalist to not express their increasing enthusiasm for those businesses that appear more and more promising.
While there is a lot of hard work between presentation and funding, good entrepreneurs are able to prioritize their time based upon the feedback they are getting from potential backers. As with so many things, its not just what a potential investor is saying but how he or she is saying it that can really matter.
I was thinking about this same thing just yesterday...I walked into the restroom here at work with my cellphone headset on as I was calling my wife. As I entered the door, my wife answered the phone on the other end. At the same time, just as I was walking in the door, I noticed an aquaintance from work washing his hands as I made way to the...[ahem]...facility. I said "Hi" to my wife and the guy at the sink thought I was saying hi to him. He responded with an enthusiastic "Hey Pedraum, how are you! Hey, great show the other night (I play guitar). Sorry I couldn't stay the whole time" and on it went.
Afterwards I asked myself why this guy from work, whom I don't know all that well at all, and who, hitherto, had aknowledged me with nothing much more than a head nod, suddenly became so animated in his interaction with me. I've decided that it was becuase of the way I greeted him (though I was actually greeting my wife). Put simply, I greeted him lovingly because, in fact, I was greeting my wife. And his response reflected that.
As a side note, I felt bad that this guy had thought I was saying hi to him and I continued to engage him, leaving my wife hanging on the other end of the phone trying to decipher what situation would find me calling her only to talk to someone else in the room. She had a good laugh after I explained what had happened.
Took an "effective presentations" class a week ago with a group of colleagues. When it came time for each to present, about half chose personal topics (e.g. teamwork and basketball) and half chose to practice communicating challenging messages to their team. Without exception, the former group was upbeat and outgoing, while the latter group was monotone and exhibited defensive body language. Makes for sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.