We all have a pitch to make. It can be to a potential client or customer, a potential investor or in a social situation involving a new potential friend, etc. The point is that all of these situations are about conveying information to one or more people to obtain a desired result. So how is your pitch?
Here I am thinking of the professional pitch, not personal. I am a mentor for an event named Fast Pitch, which has a big event in Tempe tonight (http://www.socialventurepartners.org/arizona/fast-pitch/ – if you don’t know about this, you should. Great non-profit ideas and innovations on display!). The idea is to help executive directors of non-profits hone a three minute pitch to potential investors/donors. Sounds easy, but it is not.
Just ask Julie Bank, the Executive Director of Ryan House (http://ryanhouse.org/ – a fantastic charity you should consider for volunteer work and donations!). She is my mentee in Fast Pitch. It is hard work to come up with a pitch limited to three minutes, let alone your thirty second elevator speech. Julie did great, was open to suggestions and constructive criticism and through her hard work, made the finals of Fast Pitch. Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? Most definitely because now not only can she win awards and money for Ryan House, but has a pitch she can use in the future.
So what should you do? Work on a pitch by thinking of your audience and the message you want to convey. Don’t make it too long or use words people generally won’t know the meaning of, i.e. dumb it down so whoever you are speaking to, no matter their knowledge on the subject you are conveying, will understand what you are saying. By doing so you will avoid your audience thinking about what a word meant and missing the next part of what you are saying.
And practice, practice, practice, both alone and in front of other people. Take constructive criticism. And then see where your new pitch can lead you!
If you want to discuss the idea of a pitch, have the pitch reviewed or need someone to practice in front, let me know. I am willing to help you or try to connect you with a good person to work with on your new pitch.
