The Pitch

Abstract

More than anything else, Mark Zuckerberg liked coding breakout apps. But as CEO of Facebook, he was forced to become intimately involved in the business side of the company, which meant he had to spend huge chunks of his time pitching—to investors, potential customers, and partners, as well as new recruits. Zuckerberg does not have the charisma of someone like Steve Jobs; he is naturally shy and a man of few words, and these qualities initially were liabilities when he attempted to pitch his company to key stakeholders. But he did not allow his natural inclinations to prevent him from getting better at pitching. In fact, Zuckerberg, recognizing his need to improve, dedicated countless hours to working on his speaking skills, and he even sought the help of speech coaches. True, he still is not as compelling a speaker as Steve Jobs was (who is!) and can seem awkward when he is giving company presentations. But when you compare Zuckerberg’s early (and, it must be said, painful) interviews with the media to those he gives today, you can see how far his speaking abilities have come.

And one more thing. —Steve Jobs