A s I was putting the finishing touches on this book, I received a call from my good friend Steve Mosko, the president of Sony Pictures Television. Steve wanted to give me his reaction to a video I had sent him that was a mini pilot for a reality show that another friend of mine had developed.
Steve asked me how I was doing, and I told him I was in the homestretch on a book to be submitted to my publisher the following week. When he asked what the book was about, I explained the theme of Perfecting Your Pitch. He reacted immediately by reminiscing about programs I had taught to his organization and how, as a result, scripting had become a part of his business arsenal.
He then asked me if I had seen the preceding week’s New York Times story about an Internet show, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, a production that Jerry Seinfeld is producing with Sony Pictures Television for its multiplatform network, Crackle.
Steve gave me the background, telling me how, when Sony initially made the presentation to Seinfeld, it was competing with powerful Internet firms that were also pitching Seinfeld for the business.
What Steve did to prepare for his presentation is revealing. He wrote out a script.
Steve explained: “I was ready for them. You should’ve seen the notes and ideas that I scratched out on my pad before my meeting with Jerry. I thought through all aspects of what would be important to him and what was important to us, and I plotted them out like a script. And when I went in to make my presentation, I felt fully prepared and able to address the issues that were important to Jerry. Ever since you and I discussed the principles of preparation and scripting in your programs, I have embraced them in my work.”
The script became the blueprint to deliver Steve’s message that Sony Pictures Television was the right partner for Seinfeld on this project. Steve had contemplated in advance what the concerns of his potential partner might be. He wanted to convey to Seinfeld that he had an appreciation for the differences between Comedians in Cars episodes—which run eleven to seventeen minutes—and traditional television.
In his scripted pitch, he described his company’s capability and willingness to use appropriately novel approaches to execute an innovative project like this. Finally, he underscored the importance of his company’s resources and flexibility.
In the television business, Steve is probably more familiar with traditional scripts of the sort read by actors. This script was intended to be more flexible—a well-crafted guide. In creating such a script, Steve made the same calculation that many of us make when we must prepare high-stakes presentations at work or home. He simply decided that there was too much on the line to risk a misstep.
I couldn’t help but consider Steve’s scripting the best sort of endorsement of the process. Steve understood that even the most capable and influential executives aren’t served by merely improvising. Better, he thought, not only to have devised a clear negotiation strategy but also to have already articulated and parsed the words he intended to use. Like a quarterback walking through the game plan, he had a clear vision before the discussions began.
Hopefully the model scripts and stories that follow will help you to attain your goals in many of your challenges, in business and life.
The following chapters provide forty script examples to serve as models for a variety of situations involving communication challenges, both business and personal. While the model scripts should not be used verbatim, they can serve as starting points for tailoring a script to meet particular challenges.
The model scripts, in most cases, are the product of the three-Ds process, developed through the Draft, Devil’s Advocate, and Deliver steps to meet the issues described in each chapter. To avoid redundancy, the three-Ds process is not repeated in these model script chapters. Consult part I if you need a refresher on how to implement the three Ds.
While reading the upcoming chapters will enhance your skills in dealing with communication matters, you may also refer to them to guide you through specific situations. In the final analysis, your message and delivery will be more effective when you combine using the process of the three Ds with taking specific cues from the examples that follow.
Scripting is a tool to use in the business world to get what you want while maintaining positive relationships. It can also be a useful aid to communicate effectively in the context of your most emotional or complicated personal challenges. Making a budget request, pitching yourself for a job, terminating a lease, intervening with an addict, breaking up with your boyfriend, denying a relative a loan—the following pages can offer guidance for creating the best possible script and ultimately a statement of your position or feelings.
Scripting can seem like a time-consuming process, but these model script chapters should help expedite it. They will, to the extent they are applicable, put you at a greater advantage for your upcoming conversation and provide you with suggestions for what should and should not be said. In the short amount of time it takes to read a chapter and write down a few notes, you may exponentially increase your confidence and ultimately the effectiveness of what you say. Keep in mind the scripts are models for your messages. Use them as suggestions or catalysts for what you might say in order to help build the most effective platform for your message. Several scenarios in the following chapters may require medical, psychological, or legal counsel. This book does not purport to offer expertise in those areas, but rather focuses on the kinds of communications that may apply after a decision to take action has been made with the assistance of a professional adviser.
In most cases scripts will be delivered orally, in person, or by phone. In some situations, however, the context may suggest another medium, such as e-mail. If the other party has e-mailed, an e-mail response may be appropriate. Other types of communication, such as offering condolences to the bereaved or inquiring about one’s status after a job interview, may dictate sending a letter or e-mail.
We’ve divided the scripting chapters in part II into sections. The sections are arranged to start with the business and professional arena and move on to media, family, friends, and consumer concerns.