Pitch Perfect

The media coach and Emmy Award-winning correspondent Bill McGowan shares his secrets of pitch-perfect communications, showing readers how to communicate with confidence.

During the pivotal moments of our lives, results are often determined not only by our actions but by our words as well. Saying the right thing the right way can make the difference between sealing the deal or losing the account, advancing your career or suffering a demotion. During these moments, it's important to be pitch perfect—to use precisely the right tone to convey the right message to the right person at the right time. Such pitch-perfect moments are crucial in our personal and professional journeys. In Pitch Perfect, the renowned media coach Bill McGowan shows you how to craft just the right message. Along the way, McGowan lays out his Seven Principles of Persuasion, including:

• The Scorsese Principle: Hold your audience's attention with visual images. Direct the film that plays in your listener's mind.
• The No-Tailgating Principle: Avoid verbal fender-benders and career-wrecking moments by maintaining a safe talking distance. When in doubt, stop talking and listen.
• The Pasta-Sauce Principle: Cure boredom by boiling down your message, making it as rich and brief as possible.

In Pitch Perfect, you'll learn how to overcome all these communication pitfalls. The Seven Principles of Persuasion are as easy to learn, implement, and master as they are effective. The right language—both verbal and nonverbal—can make you more confident, persuasive, and certain. It can stir people to listen closely to your every word and to remember you long after you've left the room.

is the founder and CEO of Clarity Media Group. A two-time Emmy Award–winning correspondent, McGowan has conducted hundreds of interviews with newsmakers, CEOs, celebrities, authors, editors, attorneys, and athletes. McGowan now uses that experience to coach and train everyone from corporate CEOs to celebrities such as New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, the actress Katherine Heigl, and the jazz great Wynton Marsalis. He also speaks regularly to large corporate audiences at such companies as Credit Suisse, Condé Nast, and Campbell's.

Alisa Bowman has collaborated on seven New York Times bestselling books. Her articles have appeared in Prevention, Family Circle, Women's Health, and many other national magazines.