This week the Duchess of Cambridge gives her first set-piece public speech since the wedding and, no doubt, advisers will have worked long and hard to craft  words suitable for the occasion.  Sad to say much of this effort will in vain.

Why? As a veteran royal correspondent, reported in the Sunday Times, said: “There is huge interest not so much in the content of what she says but in how she says it.” 

It’s the same for most pitches. While the prospect will never admit it. and may well have score sheets for specific content elements, the assessment they make will biased by their emotional reaction to ‘how’, more than their rational assessment of  ‘what’.

Luckily for Kate she is a natural on the how – as are most who pitch when not pitching! They need to bring their natural selves to the party, and not allow undue focus on content to spoil it.