Be consistently inconsistent.
THERE IS NO IDEAL PITCH. There is no one form that is guaranteed to make a great pitch. However, there are general expectations that audiences have of someone making a pitch. In addition, there are a series of subtle courtesies that, if followed, will make your pitch more effective.
RULE 1:
There is no one form that is guaranteed to make a great pitch.
Before jumping into the contents of the pitch or techniques for delivering that pitch, I recommend you first step back and answer two questions.
First, whom are you pitching to? More specifically, who is in the audience? How big is the audience? What are their expectations from this presentation?
The audience has a reason for listening to you. If you understand that reason, you can tune your pitch to better meet their expectations and increase the odds that you will get what you want.
RULE 2:
(As much as possible) Know who is in the audience.
Second, what do you want to accomplish with this pitch? Or, in other words, what do you want the audience to do after they hear your pitch? As you create your pitch, and after you think your pitch is done, check it for two things:
- Do you directly ask the audience to take the action you desire?
- Do you provide them with the relevant information for taking that action?
RULE 3:
Know what you want from your audience.
Note: This is not the first book in the series
For those of you who have not yet created a business plan, or who want to ensure you have thought through all the important parts of your plan, start with companion book, The Next Step: Guiding you from idea to startup.
