SPI 803: From Shy to Shine—How to Be Great on Camera or on a Podcast with Kim Rittberg

SPI 803: From Shy to Shine—How to Be Great on Camera or on a Podcast with Kim Rittberg

Kim Rittberg: People just say, I’m If you’re going to be on camera, just be yourself, just be natural. That is horrible advice! Just horrible advice! Because truly, you are speaking to an inanimate object. But, you have to pretend that inanimate object is your best friend. And use a super conversational, friendly tone, but also authoritative. Let’s strip that away. It’s not that normal. So understanding that it’s like anything else, it’s just a skill you need to learn and build upon and practice.

Pat Flynn: If you’ve ever been a guest on another person’s podcast, or perhaps even had the opportunity to show up on video. on another person’s channel or maybe even have gotten the chance to be on the news, then you understand the heaviness and the nervousness that goes with that opportunity. And if you haven’t done those things, maybe it’s because you are that nervous.

Either way, building the skill of showing up on another person’s platform and putting your best foot forward, your elevator pitch, your personality, how to get more clients without being salesy. These are the kinds of things we want to talk about. And we’re talking about them today with Kim Rittberg, who is an absolute expert in helping take your shy voice and turning it into a shining voice, one that can make an impression. No matter if it’s an audio show that you’re a guest on or a video interview or even your own channels and you are the host, either way, we’re going to break it down today using some frameworks that Kim gives us. She is an award winning media trainer, video coach, marketing strategist.

I mean, she’s got a long list of awards from Telly’s to Webby’s to shorty impact awards, golden platinum winners at the Markham awards. I mean, her list is incredible. And not only that her advice for you today, maybe life changing because I want you to be a guest on other people’s podcasts. I want you to show up in your best form so that you can make the deepest impact possible, get the most clients possible, help the most lives possible.

And again, to help us today, we have Kim Rittberg from KimRittberg.Com. Here she is.

Announcer: You’re listening to the Smart Passive Income Podcast, a proud member of the Entrepreneur Podcast Network, a show that’s all about working hard now, so you can sit back and reap the benefits later. And now your host, he thinks storytelling is going to be one of the most valuable skills anyone could have in the near future, Pat Flynn.

Pat Flynn: Kim, welcome to the SPI Podcast. Thanks for being here today.

Kim Rittberg: Thank you so much for having me.

Pat Flynn: I’m really excited because I think our audience is going to really love this episode because we’re going to talk about how to best prepare when we get invited on other podcasts or when we get the opportunity to be on media or on TV, because that’s really, I mean, that makes people so nervous.

And this is what you help people do. And I know there’s a lot of strategies to help one get ready for things like that. But before that, Kim, why don’t you tell us a little bit about why this is your expertise? Where did you come from and what did you do to become this expert in this level?

Kim Rittberg: So I started out as a TV news journalist.

So I like to say I was the hand holding the microphone on those red carpet interviews and you just see like a hand with no head. That was me. So I was doing entertainment, but I also did hard news. And so I wrote and produced for TV for about 10 years. So that’s kind of how do you write scripts and content to make people watch.

I prepared hundreds of people to be on camera. And that’s kind of what everyone’s doing now. You have to be ready to be on camera, no matter who you are. And so from there, I launched the first ever video unit for Us Weekly overseeing, you know, social and digital video for the celebrity magazine, overseeing the creative, but also the operations.

Like how do you turn a conference room into a content studio? Again, something everyone needs to know how to do. And when they sold for a hundred million dollars, actually, our video unit was a big part of that. So it was really like an amazing era. I worked at Netflix as well. I ended up deciding to work for myself because when I was having my second child, I was working during childbirth and I just was like, Oh, I love my job and I love what I’m doing.

I think there’s a different way to do this. I don’t want to be this character in the rom com anymore.

Pat Flynn: Yeah.

Kim Rittberg: And so I started my own business and that was, that’s the beginning of, of what I’m doing now.

Pat Flynn: Amazing. Well, congratulations on your success and way to go as far as like, you know what, I want to do this on my own and you’ve been helping loads of people.

I think the first question I have, and this is on behalf of a lot of people out there is, do you have to be naturally a good communicator in order to set yourself up for success? When you get the opportunity to get in front of a camera or even turn on the recording device for YouTube, like I think a lot of people are scared that they can’t even do this.

They’ve tried before. It doesn’t work. Can you coach them through that mindset going into this before we dive into the tactics here?

Kim Rittberg: I always say like the very first thing you have to do to show up on camera is prepare. And people think, Oh, I’ll prepare my my words. I’ll prepare what I’m gonna say. I’m like, No, you really have to prepare your mindset because we all feel like less than we’re like, Who am I to be showing up on camera?

I felt this way. Like, I didn’t even want to show up on camera, even though I trained people to be on camera. I was a national producer. I was a local TV news reporter, even for a little while. Like I had done some on camera, but I was mostly behind the scenes. And I heard all of those negative voices too.

And so it’s like, we all have those negative voices in our head, but we have to turn it down because it’s super important. Like as I launched my business, I was like, if I hide from the camera, I’m hiding from clients. No one’s going to know to work with Kim Rittberg if they don’t see me out there on social, on podcasts, and all of that.

And so for me, the process of showing up had been quieting those voices. Of course, I have all the tactical, I know that, but I had to do the same mindset work as everyone else. And so I’ve seen showing up for me personally, growing my business, I have a thriving group coaching, one on one, I contribute to Fast Company podcast, like, oh, all of the things I wanted, I’ve gotten from really tuning out the negative voices and then applying the strategy.

So the very first mindset shift is to understand you have a voice, you need to use your voice. We all hear those voices and you just have to turn them down. And the first tip to actually like a tactical tip to do that is we’re kind of all in supermodel mode. Like we exist that when the green light goes on, we think everyone’s judging us.

Like, Oh, my voice is too low. My teeth. You see the, notice that gap. Those are real things that people come to me and say. And I want to say people are really not paying attention to that stuff like you think they are. So you have to shift out of supermodel mode, where you’re really thinking about how people are perceiving you, and shifting into teacher mode, where you’re more focused on the message you’re conveying.

Because the truth is, people are more interested in your message. They don’t really care what you’re wearing or what How you sound so much as long as your message is educational or it’s entertaining. And so you have to really focus on that teacher mode.

Pat Flynn: I love that term supermodel mode because if you’re a supermodel, everybody’s looking at you, right?

And that’s your thing. But like, are we that selfish to think that we are the supermodels in this life that we’re in? I was taught a similar thing when I was learning how to film in public. Right. And somebody told me, they’re like, Pat, you’re not that important. Right. And you just have to say it straight up and it sounds offensive, but it’s so true.

Like the person who walks by, he was like, Oh, this person’s filming. They’re not going to go home and think about this person filming. And while at dinner with their kids is going to think about, like, I’m not that important. And so it helped me to get over that. And I love that. So teacher mode, we don’t think about what our teachers are wearing or what their what lipstick they have on or, you know, none of that stuff, stuff. It’s like, are you helping me learn something? So when you focus primarily on the message, that stuff kind of, you know, goes away, but it doesn’t go away right away, right? There are some reps and things that you need to do to practice. Do you have any favorite practice or rehearsal techniques to help a person feel even more comfortable when they’re starting out this journey?

Kim Rittberg: Yeah, absolutely. Our brains and our minds are kind of in fight or flight. People just say, I’m If you’re going to be on camera, just be yourself, just be natural. That is horrible advice! Just horrible advice! Because truly, you are speaking to an inanimate object. But, you have to pretend that inanimate object is your best friend.

And use a super conversational, friendly tone, but also authoritative. Let’s strip that away. It’s not that normal. It’s not that normal to talk to a computer or to your phone. So understanding that it’s like anything else. It’s just a skill you need to learn and build upon and practice. So understand like the first video, the first five videos, the first 10 videos, you’re going to hate yourself in them.

I was like, I’m stiff. My voice too deep. I’m so awkward. But like now I’m on video a hundred and 592. I don’t care. So number one, You know, it’s going to be hard in the beginning and you’re going to feel, like, weird and awkward because your body’s getting used to speaking to you and inanimate object to get yourself more in the mode, I recommend a few things. Number one, warm up your voice. So your, your mouth and your body is a muscle. So just like, you know, you have to like actually work out your arms. You have to like, warm up your voice to sound good and to feel good. In addition to that, right before you’re going to record, try to talk to somebody conversationally, even if like, You’re leaving a message for somebody get into that conversational mode.

Lastly, another really good one is put on some good music. So music has an incredible ability to put you in a better mood. So whatever it is, if it’s like Beyonce, Taylor Swift, the Eagles, whatever, Beastie Boys, you know, whoever makes you feel good. Those are a couple of tips to just get you in the right mindset, but then even kind of, that’s like right before you’re filming before that, you absolutely have to have some notes about what you’re going to say.

Like, you can’t feel confident if you’re winging it. Like, very few people can improvise. Stand up comedians, maybe actors, very few people can improvise and sound really wonderful.

Pat Flynn: Okay, so for somebody who is going to be filming or recording a podcast, for example, and it’s just them, scripting a roadmap out of the points you want to make and, you know, bullet points of maybe quotes you want to say, or just at least the path they’re going to take is really key.

How far into that, for a solo show, would you recommend? Cause I remember when I first started out, I was so nervous that I would literally write every word and I was, you know, it just didn’t sound natural because it was every word. What would be your recommendation for somebody who understands, okay, I can’t just do this from scratch, but I also need to plan a little bit, but how far do I write, how much do I write before I go into it?

Kim Rittberg: I’ve helped produce podcasts for several different companies and individuals. One of the biggest ones is people I worked for was people magazine launching two of their podcasts. So it’s important to know how scripted or casual you want your show to be. You also have to remember if you’re having like a bit of conversation, it has to be directed conversation.

So if you’re aiming for like a 25 or 30 minute show, like commute time, you know, most commutes are about 30 minutes. So maybe that’s really six questions of four minutes each, 24 minutes, intro, outro. So like you kind of do the math on things, but if you want to have more flow, you might only really stick to four main questions.

It’s four questions, maybe five minutes each is 20 minutes. So you can kind of do a little bit of the math on it to figure out like how many questions. And then I would think about, is this like a super scripted show? Very few shows are like super scripted, like an NPR type of reporting. So yeah. So just figure out really what are the main things I want to talk about and do I want to leave a little bit of room for flow?

Because sometimes you go off on a tangent, so you kind of want to be aware of if you’re leaving room for that.

Pat Flynn: Makes sense. What if you’re on the opposite side? You’re not the host, but you’re rather the guest. How do you prepare yourself for that? If, for example, you are a guest on a podcast, just like you are right now, and obviously you’re seasoned at this, so you know, and you can probably just do this with confidence without even knowing the questions beforehand, because you didn’t know the questions beforehand.

So what would be your recommendation for somebody who is, for the first time, because we encourage this a lot, be a guest on another person’s podcast. It’s one of the best ways to grow your brand, to build relationships, to get in front of newer audiences, and that is obviously a scary thing to do, but how can you prepare because you can’t script out a ton of things because you don’t know exactly what a person is going to ask or where they’re going to take it.

So how do you mentally prepare as a guest for another show?

Kim Rittberg: I love this question and I have a story for you. So I started promoting, storytime, when I launched my podcast called The Exit Interview with Kim Rittberg. It’s for self employed people to succeed in work and life and have some balance. When I first started doing my podcast, promotional interviews, meaning I’d be on people’s shows to get people to be interested to listen to my show.

It was fine. I got some extra listeners, some extra social follows, but like, it wasn’t like this huge bump or boost either for my business or for my show. So I really kind of like went back to basics and was like, okay, like, this is fine. I’m not embarrassing myself. Like, you know, I’m speaking fine. I’m fairly eloquent.

But like, I, I didn’t really get the essence of Kim. What I mean by that is I’m a video expert. I like helping people show up. I’m also someone who likes to make jokes and I’m like loose and I’m not super buttoned up. And that wasn’t necessarily coming across in the first interviews. Like I was full of information, but I, I wasn’t really bringing myself into the interviews and that was a loss.

So then I really kind of like rejiggered my strategy being that I am a communications expert. I went on someone’s podcast. And like within a day, I had five inbound inquiries and I ended up making like 25, 000 in client business from that one appearance. And I had messages like, I heard you on this show and I realized I need to connect with you and have you in my life.

I was like, okay, this is it. And I, I really thought about that. So what I learned from it, and what I’m going to now teach from this story time is when you’re showing up on a podcast, you are bringing your knowledge. Like that is the number one reason people are listening to you, but you also have to really be yourself, which ties into what you asked earlier about how can we show up?

We don’t all feel like We’re professional, you know, charismatic television reporters. It’s really more important for you to show up with your expertise and really be yourself, because that is what people are buying into. Like, they can Google it. It’s, we have AI everything. We’ve Googled everything. A lot of the information we’re bringing, like, It is possible you could Google maybe everything I’m saying.

I don’t know. Maybe. But you really have to bring yourself into it. And I think that is the most important thing when you’re showing up on a podcast is a know what you’re going to teach, have it in a system like a framework that is in your mind, whether it’s something alliterative, like I have a thing that I show up on, you know, if Pat wants to ask me about it, I’ll tell you, but it’s like a framework, you know, my patch method to show up on camera.

That helps me not have to grasp at straws. When someone asks me, Kim, how can I show up more confident on camera? I could say, here’s my patch framework, P A T C H. The other thing is, like I mentioned before, really bringing yourself into it. And, you know, I was saying, okay, I’m loose. Other people are like serious.

Other people are compassionate. You have to kind of build that in. As you’re doing interview and really get comfortable with like really showing up as your whole self.

Pat Flynn: Very good. And you know, the nice thing about being interviewed is it is with an actual other person on the other end, right? So where before you’re like, okay, you’re doing a solo show, just be yourself.

That’s hard because it’s an inanimate object. But here you are. Hopefully on either a zoom call or squad cast, or even if it’s just over a voice, there’s a real person on the other end that you can have a conversation with. And I think it’s so important just to double down on that idea of just, just be yourself and be comfortable with who you are.

And those are the kinds of people that you would want to attract anyway, right? If people were going to be clients of yours, you don’t want it to be somebody who thinks they’re getting something other than you. And I think that’s really key. And we’ll, we’ll talk about getting clients in a little bit from those guest spots, whether it’s on video or audio, like a podcast.

But I want to ask you, how do you become more confident on camera? I hear you have this framework called the patch framework that I’d love to learn about. I don’t remember where I heard that from, but.

Kim Rittberg: Some really brilliant, smart, engaging, and funny human in a lavender shirt told me that. So the patch framework is P A T C H because we patch up what you’re missing.

The P is for preparation. So to be a confident on camera, P A T C H. So P is preparation. We talked about this before, but the mindset preparation is way before the actual word preparation. So preparing your mind that you really do deserve to be on camera. And I did want to flag this also. I like for people to really think about, think about who you follow, probably the majority of people you follow are intelligent, normal humans and not just celebrities.

So remember that it’s not so far in the great future, really far future that you could be someone other people want to follow and listen to. So a lot of people were in the era of regular experts, instead of like 25 years ago, the only people who could speak were like reporters, anchors, celebrities, we’re just in a different era.

And so I just think like, allow yourself to realize that you have a right to be an important part of that.

Pat Flynn: So important. Thank you for that.

Kim Rittberg: Yeah, I just think I grew up in TV and truly like, I was told and everybody was told like, you’re too fat. Like, Oh, you probably if you lost 10 pounds, you’d be a good reporter.

I was like, I’m probably fine now. But that was the era you had to like look perfect and you had to have the perfect diction and blah, blah, blah. And it doesn’t exist like that anymore. And I think that because the world has changed, we have to accept the world has changed and really dive in because we’re sort of stunting our own business growth by thinking that we’re in that old gatekeeper world.

We’re really not. So anyway, that’s just an aside. So P is for preparation. A is for authentic, which is what we were talking about, which is whoever you are, Like be the most you. You’re funny, you’re compassionate, you’re wise, you’re silly, you’re very serious. Just be that always. The T is for turn off distractions.

When you’re trying to be yourself and bring your all to camera, you cannot have your phone buzzing. Like it’s super distracting. It’s like being in a Zoom, being in a meeting when someone’s phone is buzzing with distractions. The C is for confidence. It’s hard at first, but you have to be confident. And I have tricks on like how you can raise your confidence.

You can be looking at your resume. You can have a brag book where you put like photos of you doing cool stuff that you’ve done in your past that you’re proud of. Honestly, I used to call my mom and I would be like, mom, I’m going into a big interview. Can you pump me up? Or like I’m going on TV for this interview to promote my company.

Tell me I’m awesome. Whatever works for you, but like, you have to really go into it. Believing that you’re awesome and you deserve it because people can feel that, you know, you can feel when someone’s not confident. And then the H is harness your energy. So we all have a natural baseline energy. Like I’m from New York, but I’m nice.

I’m a New Yorker, a friendly New Yorker, but I speak faster. then maybe someone from California. And I have to be aware that when I’m trying to harness my energy, that means slowing down maybe 15%. Someone who maybe has like a slower energy, a softer energy with more of a drawl might need to speed up their energy a little bit to keep people engaged.

It’s not a huge thing. It’s don’t be someone else, but it is important to just be aware. Like, I can’t speak at my fastest pace for social media or podcast. It’s too fast for someone else. So just be a little bit aware of as you watch back your own content. I know that’s like the worst thing to tell people, but watch back your content and then see if you want to adjust it to either kind of be a little higher energy.

Most people need a little bit of higher energy.

Pat Flynn: Anybody who reviews their own self is not going to enjoy it, but if you come at it from a more objective point of view, I think it can help out so that the next time you do it, which we will all continue, hopefully, to keep trying, it’ll be a little bit better.

Let’s roleplay a little bit. Let’s imagine, Kim, then I am somebody who just got word that I was going to appear in my local news in a one and a half to two minute segment about the book that I’m coming out with or something like that. Let’s just let’s just use that as an example prepping to be on video in the news and the media that feels so big, even though.

In general, like I think even before we get into that, I think it’s important to do. I think it’s great for social proof. It’s not necessarily going to sell more books as we might expect, which is why it’s still important to have your own platform online, build your audience email list, all those kinds of things.

But it’s an opportunity that you definitely want to say yes to. But if you’ve never done that before, it can feel very scary. Can you coach me through what I should do? I’m going to be interviewed tomorrow. I want to talk about my book, but I don’t want to come across as silly. What kinds of things might they ask me and how do I position myself to be, you know, good on camera in that kind of perspective?

Kim Rittberg: A, always say yes. So I was a TV journalist and basically if you get that opportunity, it might not come around again. So you have to say yes, even if you want to throw up, even if you feel like I can’t do this, you’re going to figure out a way to do this because those opportunities are rare. So you have to say yes.

Yeah. How to prepare. So ideally, if you’re starting to show up, you really want to have prepared even sooner. Just by talking to your own camera. That’s already prep. It doesn’t feel like it’s prep. It is talking to an inanimate object like your phone, doing your pitch in meetings with people, doing your elevator pitch that all does prepare you.

So don’t discount the fact that you’ve actually been preparing yourself. But when it comes to actually preparing for the show, you should always know your elevator pitch. So when they say, tell me about yourself, sometimes they’ll say that, sometimes they won’t. You should be ready to say it in one line.

You should never, ever, ever be like, Oh you know, you should know who you are and what you do. And when you’re talking about a book about being selly, it’s interesting. I find that generally people are not as salesy as they think they are. But when you’re talking about a book, authors are too salesy.

Pat Flynn: Oh, interesting.

Kim Rittberg: I think that often when people come up with a book, they’re really like selling that book.

Pat Flynn: What are they saying to make it feel that way on camera?

Kim Rittberg: So I think when authors go on social media, I think often they’re trying to sell the book. But when you’re an author and you’re on social media, you’re actually really just still trying to build your following and then sell the book.

But I think in an interview, you can actually sell the book a little more because this is if it’s an interview truly about your book. You should be like, this is why my book’s awesome. Select out parts about your book. Similarly, if you’re talking about your business, select out parts that are really amazing.

So I worked with someone, he wrote a book about this really interesting person in American history. Like an explorer, I want to say, maybe not American. world history, a really interesting explorer. And what we did was we pulled out little parts that make for really great sound bites. So like two sentences about a part of the book, that’s really, oh my God, wow.

In addition to that, that elevator pitch, you should have a really tight short paragraph about your book and that makes it sizzle like you think about like a movie trailer with that person with the booming voice of like in a world where Pat and Kim make you the most confident person in the world, you know, that voice like you have to think about how you’re going to sell the book to make it really, really, really exciting.

A lot of copy is very flat. So you have to practice make it more selly, not selly, sizzly. Also practice it for voice. So like a lot of people are good writers on paper. Maybe you’re not a good writer, but like more people I think are used to writing on paper. It’s important to say the words out loud because the words you say out loud just like hit totally differently.

It’s important to hear how it sounds.

Pat Flynn: What about how I look on like, you know, I could say these things, but I don’t want to look awkward and I’m a little nervous. I feel like I’m going to sweat or like just kind of days and with the camera there and the bright lights and all this stuff. Is there anything we can do to prepare for? For the studio and what that might feel like.

Kim Rittberg: Pat’s just fishing for a compliment. You look great. Oh, No, I’m just kidding. I mean, you do look great. For studio preparation, it is, I’ll be honest, without proper on camera media coaching, which I do offer. Without proper on camera media coaching, it is very hard to replicate that situation. However, prepare your own talking points as if you were the anchor.

Give it to someone and role play. You have to prepare. It’s the same as like a job interview where, you know, you don’t know exactly which questions, but you know that there’s basically like 12 questions they might ask. Sit down with someone and have them ask you those questions. This is like my biggest, biggest tip.

You have to practice your answers out loud. You will be shocked at how much you’re stumbling on your words, even for something that, you know, like the back of your hand.

Pat Flynn: I can attest to that. Okay, let’s go back to perhaps an opportunity for the audience that is more likely, which is to be a guest on another person’s show.

Let’s say they want to eventually convert those listeners into clients, just like you have when you’ve been on other people’s shows. What’s the best way to go into an interview to make that happen? Some people who I know who could have benefited from that. You know, just a simple ask or a landing page just were too afraid to even ask.

They didn’t want to step on the host’s toes. And then of course, on the opposite side, there are people who come in and every answer includes a pitch to go to the thing. So what is a good, happy medium there? And what do we need to have set up beforehand? Are you an advocate for having a landing page, for example, for each interview?

What is your recommendation for the sort of more general online marketer?

Kim Rittberg: I generally give this advice. I kind of take it over the top because hyperbolic soundbites are more catchy, but like a podcast is not a conversation.

Pat Flynn: Tell me more.

Kim Rittberg: You know, I don’t mean that to the fullest extent, but the truth is a conversation is when you run into someone at the coffee shop and you, you know, shoot the breeze and you chat about stuff.

A podcast is not a conversation because it is a controlled conversation about a topic, a topic of which you are an expert in. So you should be able to answer all of the questions in a way that educates the listeners, but also gets them, if they’re the right fit, interested in working with you. I think when people aren’t prepared enough, you’re losing the capability to turn it into a really successful business driver.

I was a guest a few times, and they liked me so much, I became a guest host on a podcast. And that audience is really my ideal audience. I work with coaches, consultants, founders, and real estate agents. Basically, self employed people who need to show up on camera. That’s basically it. I’m now a guest host and every time I’m on, I get new social media followers and I’ve probably brought in dozens of new clients from just that show.

So to that point is be super prepared in what the possibilities of what to talk about are. And when it comes to how much you should promote yourself, there are ways to promote yourself without being like, and this is why you should hire me and also sign up here and download here. And, and, you know, that program costs this.

There are a lot of ways to make people want to work with you because you can include client wins in your, in your conversation. So it’s a good testament to your work that your clients are having big wins. So that’s a way to like educate because you’re giving a case study. But you’re also having somebody understand the possible transformation.

The other thing is like the elevator pitch. I still think like that needs to always be in there. Nail it. Like, and I, I love, like, I love my people. We’re all working so hard. I’m also a business owner. You can do it. Nail it, your elevator pitch and practice it everywhere. When your cousin at the wedding asks you what you do, use your elevator pitch.

Library. grocery store, like always use it because it’s such a missed opportunity when you’re hemming and hawing over what you do and who you help. So anyway, that was a long way of saying have your elevator pitch. You can work in ways to sell your work by including client wins. And then also for the download, you are like always a super early adapter of everything.

I am like a person who loves helping people build things. I’m not like the super technologist of so I am often a fan of like the MVP, the minimum viable product. So I think you get your thing. You put it somewhere. You put your link up, you say, grab my free download to learn X, Y, and Z at this link. If you love setting up new landing pages and you have a good team, blah, blah, blah, absolutely do it.

If you don’t just like do it the simplest way you possibly can, like do the simplest funnel you can possibly do. Cause I think a lot of times people get stepped up by the like, get like blocked up.

Pat Flynn: It’s true.

Kim Rittberg: By worrying that they, they don’t have that 15th landing page. Backslash Pat Flynn, you know, just do something, something better than nothing.

So I think that in terms of like what lead magnet you should have, like have like two really solid ones. And then if you think you’re going to be on a huge podcast and you want to do a custom one for that, do that.

Pat Flynn: I agree. And I think there have been cases where people come on this show and they’re just like, yeah, just DM me on Instagram or find me on LinkedIn.

And then they get clients because it’s just simple, right? And I think we often overcomplicate things. What makes a good elevator pitch to you?

Kim Rittberg: Ooh, I love this. Another framework, Pat. You ready for it?

Pat Flynn: Patch me up.

Kim Rittberg: So, ABC. I’ve actually done a workshop, how to pitch yourself in 30 seconds. It’s like the kind of workshop people are like, Kim, you saved my life.

You may build my business in that 30 seconds. I think everyone needs a 30 second elevator pitch. As I mentioned earlier, I was a journalist and people would have to pitch me like really, really fast at these conferences to be on TV. And when I tell you like people make snap judgments, it’s the same in the business world as it is for journalism, ABC. Accomplishments, should always be in your elevator pitch accomplishments. So that could be anything from awards you’ve won. Certifications you have, if you went to an amazing college, if you got featured in a big media outlet, it can also include like client wins. You know, if you’re serving a lot of clients and they’ve had X growth, or if you help somebody boost their revenue by three times, whatever.

So the accomplishments should always be there. I find that’s the thing. A lot of people leave out the B is for business. This is going to sound so silly. You got to have a really clear way of saying what you do. Sometimes people I’d say, especially like when I see for coaches or consultants, it can get a little soft.

The language can be soft. And then I’m like, Do you help with my finances? Like I transform your life. Are you a therapist? Are you a financial consultant? Are you a chef? Like what? Are you a chef? Ooh! Oh! That’s a good one. You would change my life if you were a chef. But, so I think it, it sounds silly, but you really have to be crystal clear on exactly what you do.

Pat Flynn: Is that like a I help blank do blank? Is that like that clear even?

Kim Rittberg: It could be that. And then also like, if you’re an accountant per se, I don’t know why I always use accountant, but like if you’re an accountant, what kind of accountant are you and how are you a great accountant? So maybe it’s like, I’m the stress free accountant.

I make April not suck.

Pat Flynn: That’s cool.

Kim Rittberg: I Yeah, great. So A, accomplishments, B, business, C, confidence. Confidence is always in. Be confident in your pitch and you’re going to be confident because you’ve said it 10 times to your mirror, 10 times to your phone, 20 times to your grandma, 8 times to your cousin. Like, just keep practicing it.

And the last one, this is like totally optional, but I like it. We all feel weird pitching ourselves. Like that’s normal because we’re normal humans. Don’t like to pitch. That’s cool. But sometimes I think the other C can be a conversational, like coat hook. So something that someone can chat with you about in a casual way, that’s like less businessy.

So for example, I hate olives, but don’t you find that that’s a very polarizing statement?

Pat Flynn: It is, especially when you talk to my wife who loves olives. So it’s kind of strange. So the point of the co hook is to, is this to take a person’s mind off? So like, this is in the elevator pitch, like you just include it as like a little aside or, or what do you, how is this being used?

Kim Rittberg: So I think it can work two ways. So one, it can take the direction it can, it can take the focus off, which can be bad. I think when you’re starting to pitch and you feel super duper uncomfortable, it can help to have like a little bit of icebreaker in there. So here’s what I do. And I love to do improv comedy, something like that.

I love to travel, whatever, something that I think when you’re starting with your pitch, it feels very uncomfortable for people. So I think it can help to have that little bit of icebreaker broken in. The downside is it does distract a little bit.

Pat Flynn: Yeah, but it adds a little bit of that personality into there as well, which you said it was so important.

So I guess it’ll take some practice and attempts and reps to sort of feel like how that might fit in or what might be the right sort of olive, if you will, for, for each individual. I mean, for me, when I talk about business now, It’s interesting because I have this Pokemon YouTube channel on the side. And oftentimes when people are like, Hey, what do you do?

And I’m like, you know, I have a business here and I help people with podcasting and YouTube. Oh, by the way, I also have a YouTube channel with a million subs in the Pokemon space, which kind of plays the role of like the extra hobby, but it Also is kind of related to business too, which is kind of neat.

And that all often like you just see people in the moment, like sit up and they go, wait, what, tell me more about that. And, you know, I always use that example to qualify the business things that I talk about too. So if you could find something like that, that’s, that’s great. And I do love the idea of getting those reps in.

Practicing and I mean, I know, do you recommend using tools, any tools to help a person discover or massage that pitch a little bit like are you recommending, for example, chat GPT to run it through and kind of maybe word a little bit better, especially for those who are struggling to figure out what exact words they should be using.

Kim Rittberg: Yeah. What I recommend actually is kind of like a brand questionnaire, like answer, like you can find this online, like questions to ask yourself about your brand or questions, ask yourself about your pitch, answer those questions. You can run it through chat GPT. I think that’s great. I don’t recommend like always like using it exactly as chat GPT.

It’s probably not exactly your voice unless you’ve coded it really successfully. I like your idea by the way of also your kind of conversational code hook to connect back to your business. So like, I love doing art. I’m I used to have a jewelry business that kind of works because I am a business owner, so it gives me street cred with business owners, but I’m also creative.

Like I make award winning videos. I’m an award winning video marketer for anyone who’s listening. I’m, I’m pointing at awards on my shelf.

Pat Flynn: But yeah, they, I mean, what am I seeing back there?

Kim Rittberg: So I have two Webby honors, two Marcom awards, a telly and a shorty impact award.

Pat Flynn: That’s amazing.

Kim Rittberg: When I’m talking about like, what’s my conversational coat hook, it makes sense that I used to have a jewelry business and that I love art because I am in the crestive sphere. Also, I understand the stresses of being a business owner having been one before as well.

So maybe to your point of like Pokemon being a thing that pushes it forward instead of our bizarrely weird olive distaste maybe tie it back to your business.

Pat Flynn: Pineapple on pizza would be even worse. I think.

Kim Rittberg: Do you like it or hate it?

Pat Flynn: I don’t, I’m not a fan of it. Even though I love Hawaiian culture, I don’t think that’s part of Hawaiian culture.

Kim Rittberg: I lived in Australia and they made me eat it there. I was like.

Pat Flynn: Oh really?

Kim Rittberg: This isn’t as bad as it sounds, but I don’t want to have it again.

Pat Flynn: How much do you tailor your pitch elevator pitch conversation to like who it is that you’re speaking to? Like, do you think about that a bit? Cause I think if we practice our elevator pitch and it’s the same, perhaps we’re losing an opportunity to maybe fine tune it.

Change a few words specific to that audience that we’re speaking to. Do you, do you consider that before you go into a, into a spot?

Kim Rittberg: Yeah, I think when you’re getting to like the next level of pitching, like I think there’s, you know, the one on one classes, get the pitch, practice the pitch, keep working it.

The iterations, when you’re getting into like the two oh one level, the three oh one level, I recommend having different iterations based on the most common situations you might be in and when you might be with your ideal clients. So for me, for example, I’m a parent, I have two kids, me having kids and being an executive in was a, an epiphany for me professionally.

I have a lot of clients. It’s not all, but I have a lot of clients who are also moms. So I might include the fact that I was working during childbirth and that was my business epiphany. I might include that in a pitch in that situation. When I’m in a room full of people, I don’t really know, I’m not really sure where they’re at or, or if that’s going to really land well, or if maybe in fact, that sounds anti corporate.

I might not include that part. So I think that, yes, when you have your pitch, you can include or exclude certain parts. I still think ABC accomplishments, business and confidence should still remain in both. Even if it has little tweak.

Pat Flynn: To finish up here. This has been a great conversation, Kim. Thank you so much for this rundown.

I think it’s going to be something that is going to be extremely useful for people who are especially this year, hopefully finally going to get to be guests on other podcasts or even perhaps that media spot on TV or the local news channel as well. What are some of the more common mistakes people doing this make, I want to make sure we address those really quick so that we can avoid them, or at least know how to handle, handle those things.

Kim Rittberg: This is one that I think also plays back to people really owning it and like winning it. So I have this client, Marissa, and she I’ve worked with her on messaging strategy and video strategy, and I’d say she is like a lot of people. She’s really good at what she did, but I feel like. It was too vague. So I think she really needed to hone her elevator pitch and be more herself wherever she was.

Because when people are hiring you, they’re hiring you for your unique perspective. So when your content’s too vague and it ends up being too bland, they’re actually losing that valuable perspective that you bring. So I think that’s a part of it. So once we started working with her, so she ended up going on podcast with a more pointed pitch and she ended up getting a fortune 500 speaking engagement.

Pat Flynn: Amazing.

Kim Rittberg: Yeah. Two new clients and another podcast invitation. And again, that’s from really tightening up the messaging, even before you’re talking, even before you’re going as a guest to be on a podcast, even before you’re making your video, taking the time to sit down and really say like, what makes me unique?

How does my product or service serve people in a really specific way? Am I making it sound like spicy enough? Like you have to make it really sound great and life changing because there’s so much noise out there. So I think number one is like make your messaging really pointed. And if it’s not sharp, like keep building it up, keeping it feel special or transformative or different because like bland is the worst, basically,

Pat Flynn: I think a big struggle that a lot of us have is having that point of view or that spicy opinion on something, one that could potentially either create the opposite side of that some trolls or haters, for example, how much do you believe in leaning into a point of view, you know, planting your flag in the ground about something is that is that important when you get these spots to have that that thing that is you believe in so much that could also upset people on the other side.

Do you think that that’s smart to do, or are we in this to try to please everybody?

Kim Rittberg: I think it is really important. And I think when I say spicy, I don’t think it necessarily has to be political. Like, I think people think of it as not political, like Democrat, Republican, whatever. But I think people think that it might be something that offends people.

But I’m actually going to push you further. So like, I’m working with someone right now, and she’s telling me what she does. And I said, Okay, what do you think people are doing wrong or what they’re not doing and what they’re missing. So it doesn’t necessarily have to be like, everyone’s so stupid, they’re doing it wrong, but pushing up against something you see out there that you think is not helpful.

And it doesn’t always have to be from a negative perspective. It, I think people always think like it has to be negative. It doesn’t have to be like, what you’re doing wrong, but it could be why that hasn’t happened for you yet, or how to make that thing more profitable, or the thing you are missing on this, but it doesn’t have to be negative.

And I think that people always think it has to be negative or like, make someone mad.

Pat Flynn: Yeah.

Kim Rittberg: It doesn’t have to make someone mad or take a position for you to give Take a position.

Pat Flynn: Take a position. Yeah.

Kim Rittberg: And I also think like if you’re building your business, there really are things that you do believe in that your competitors would do differently.

And so you have to kind of like go deeper into that. Like you have to go deeper into what makes you unique with your point of view. And I just think like people always think that it’s, it has to be a thing where you’re like, everybody else is stupid or like dah, dah, dah, dah, or you’re all wrong. It doesn’t have to be like that, but you have to have like a stronger position because like bland content does not cut through the noise today.

You know that, you know, it’s, I think. And even if your thing is like. I am always positive. I’m the biggest optimist and that’s a position. That’s also a position. So it doesn’t always have to be so negative. So the point is, I think you have to be pointed. I think you have to have a perspective. I think you have to keep your message simple.

That’s another thing you have to keep it simple. So someone can walk away and understand. Remember like, Oh, she’s the lady who does the video stuff. Or she’s the lady that helps you with your pitch. You want someone to be able to like say that. And then last thing is like, shine, like go, just go be yourself and believe in yourself.

Because I think to the very first thing is just, we all have these voices in our head that tell us that we’re not ready for it, or we’re not good enough, or do I, should I really even be a guest on this podcast? Or should I really show up on video? And like, You’re amongst friends. Everyone feels that way.

You know, I’ve had, I’ve, I’ve done media training with like supermodels and members of Congress and founders and celebrities. They all feel insecure. Like everyone feels insecure, so you’re in good company and go for it.

Pat Flynn: Kim, thank you so much for your energy today. I appreciate you so much. This has been super helpful.

Where might people go to work with you or find out more about what you have to offer on your end?

Kim Rittberg: I’m going to break all of my rules earlier. Just DM me, just kidding, but you can drop me a note on Instagram or LinkedIn or YouTube or wherever, but Kim Rittberg, R I T T B E R G. I will personally say hello to you.

And I have a free download, which is 10 tips to turn your videos from mediocre to magnetic and a bonus one about how to shine on camera. So those are tips on how to be more confident on camera, similar to the ones we talked about today. But a little different. And so I’d love to hear from you. I’m a huge fan, Pat, of everything of yours.

So I’m just like, so excited to be here. I probably should have said that an hour ago, but I’m super excited to be here. I geeked out. I was taking an iPhone photo surreptitiously before so that I could post on social. I’m just, I’m really happy to be here. You have such an amazing community and I just, I love everything you teach and these were really smart questions.

Pat Flynn: Thank you. Well, thank you for adding value to the community and we appreciate your spot here and look forward to working with you. Where can people go get those downloads?

Kim Rittberg: Oh my God, I failed. I’m grading myself as an F.

Pat Flynn: I got you. I got your back Kim.

Kim Rittberg: I got my free download. That’s on KimRittberg.com/newsletter. That has all of those free downloads.

Pat Flynn: Awesome. Thank you so much. I appreciate you.

All right. I hope you enjoy that interview with Kim Rittberg. Speaking of interview, you should check out her podcast since you’re here listening to this podcast called The Exit Interview with Kim Rittberg.

She’s amazing. I was a guest on her show and so many amazing entrepreneurs are on her show as well that you can listen to, and she’s just wonderful. And so definitely take her tips, but also download her stuff at KimRittberg.com/newsletter. Like she said, and find her on LinkedIn and Twitter and Instagram.

She’ll send you a message for sure. So thank you, Kim. I appreciate you. Thank you for listening all the way through. I hope this has helped improve your content creation and especially your guest spots no matter where you become a guest, we want you to put your best foot forward. And this is definitely the best way to do it. So thank you so much, Kim.

Thank you. And I look forward to serving you in the next episode. Cheers.

Thank you so much for listening to the Smart Passive Income podcast at SmartPassiveIncome.com. I’m your host, Pat Flynn. Sound editing by Duncan Brown. Our senior producer is David Grabowski, and our executive producer is Matt Gartland. The Smart Passive Income Podcast is a production of SPI Media, and a proud member of the Entrepreneur Podcast Network. Catch you next week!