Pitch Like Hollywood: What You Can Learn from the High-Stakes Film Industry

From the Back Cover\n"Pitch Like Hollywood is a fantastic read and an even better resource. It turns the necessary evil of pitching into a much more calculable opponent. Sorry, Hollywood, but in today's entrepreneurial climate, pitching is now truly industry-agnostic, as tech startup 'Demo Days' slide into the common vernacular, Kickstarter campaigns flood our social media feeds, and Shark Tank is the new American Idol. Desberg and Davis have done a phenomenal job demystifying the art and science of the pitch by not only breaking down the emotions leading up to and during the act, but also unveiling the many paths to success—across a diverse set of industries and personality types. If you plan on needing to convince anyone of anything in your lifetime, I'd highly suggest picking up this book!"
—Kourtney Lyons, former content strategy manager Herschend Entertainment Studios (co-owners of Dollywood)\n"This gem of a book is the most amazingly comprehensive guide to pitching I've seen. If it's success you're after, you could read 30 other books and hope to glean helpful tidbits…or you could read this one and be assured you have a solid strategy."
—Warner Loughlin, personal coach of Amy Adams, Ryan Reynolds, and Kyra Sedgwick\n"This book has more than a collection of 'How I did it' anecdotes. The research and industry stories are wide-ranging, and more important, they are useful."
—Karin Argano, VP of corporate training and technical support, Yamaha Motorcycles\n"Lively and thoughtful. Desberg and Davis deliver read-worthy strategies for improving business as well as personal communication. The format is entertaining, and the skills are immediately applicable to daily business challenges. This book helps you visualize successful and interesting presentations by demonstrating options for 'telling' your story, not 'selling' your story.' "
—Susan Blifeld, corporate training consultant, Yamaha\n"Above and beyond everything else about this remarkable book, I'm impressed by the authors' refusal to take the usual 'Here’s how I do it' approach. They gather various opinions and the latest research about the aspects of pitching. I constantly encourage my staff to use their own intuition and gather as many points of view as possible."
—David Beck, general manager of Premium Financing AIG\n"With their combined experience in screenwriting and psychology—and decades of practice coaching writers, executives, and industry insiders—Peter Desberg and Jeffrey Davis bring a unique wealth of knowledge to their subject. Far more than a 'how to,' Pitch Like Hollywood is an in-depth exploration of everything about this maddening art form, from body language to brain functioning. There's no better place to understand the complex interaction of message and messenger than here."
—Stephen Galloway, dean, Chapman University Dodge College of Film and Media Arts\n"The authors have probably been dining out on some of these disarmingly insightful stories for years, so it's good to have them here in such a practicable context. We deal with aspects of pitching and persuasion every day, whether we’re talking to a friend, colleague, or significant other. Especially when we're just watching or reading the news and trying to untangle what narrative we’re being sold. I laughed and learned from these guys. Who knew that the Hollywood pitch isn’t that much different than trying to pitch anywhere else? Pitch Like Hollywood gives fresh meaning to the verity that we tell stories in order to live, and it shows us how to tell those stories more powerfully."
—Rick Schultz, music critic, Los Angeles Times\n"Buy this book if you ever have to convince anyone, of anything, in any industry. Seamlessly interweaving witty and essential truths about the power of persuasion, Desberg and Davis tap into their respective expertise as a clinical psychologist and a successful screenwriter and educator to show us the way to success. An insightful and practical guide, the authors add their uniq