“Here’s the “big idea” in 76 words: There is a fundamental disconnect between the way we pitch anything and the way it is received by our audience. As a result, at the crucial moment, when it is most important to be convincing, nine out of ten times we are not. Our most important messages have a surprisingly low chance of getting through.

You need to understand why this disconnect occurs in order to overcome it, succeed, and profit. This book tells you how.”

Oren Klaff made finding a quote easy.

I'd never heard of the author, but this book on my iBooks shelf (I don't even remember how I heard about it) caught my eye. After finishing it, it should be required reading for anyone who is in sales.

Pitch explains how the human brain works to receive and evaluate communication. Than it explains why many sales call, presentation and persuasion campaigns don't work: we're talking to the wrong part of the brain.

Oren is from the venture capital world, which I know very little about and have an equal level of interest in. In reading the beginning of this book, I thought I might put it down, never to pick it up again, as he was talking VC mumbo-jumbo that didn't matter to me. But plow on I did, and that turned out to be a great decision.

The most valuable thing I learned from Pitch was about "frames."

Frames are how we size up people and situations. These frames are what we use to summarize people, and them, us. Oren teaches the reader how to keep control of frames, how to use frames against our counterparts (in a fun and productive way, that is), and how to flip others’ frames when they're used against us.

One example is the power frame. Have you ever been to someone's business, checked in at the front desk and then been instructed to sit in the lobby and wait? That's a beta trap! Reading Pitch, I thought of a recent situation of mine when this exact thing happened, and I'd fallen for it! I didn't get the business I wanted the day, either. Pitch will make sure that never happens to me again - or to you.

You Should Read Pitch IF: You're in any form of sales where you have to get others to understand, agree with, and/or exchange money for your idea. This is a human psychology book that uses sales as its canvas.