W14: Pitching Shanice Grocia

When researching ideas for radio and podcast shows, I came across a posting for CBC Radio’s guide for pitching story ideas. The website lists 6 major elements for submitting a pitch. The one I found most essential was the tip: “Who You Are” This particular tip asked questions such as, “Have you hosted, produced or written for radio before?” “What led to your idea?” “What are is your background/passion?” I thought this was a concrete way to create a rapport with your audience by letting them know who you are, and what brought you to this idea and company.


Another source I discovered with relevant information regarding pitches was PhilMickinney.com. In his podcast, Making the Innovative Pitch he introduces the concept of , “Working from their Perspective”. This basically meant knowing the audience you are pitching to and looking outside of your pitch with a subjective mind. Within the podcast, he states, “Put yourself in the shoes of the person or persons who will hear your pitch. What is their perspective? What in their history defines how they will look at your idea?” I thought this was a very good idea, especially if students within this course pitch their podcast ideas in the future. By working from their perspective, a pitch can be better edited and suited for those that will hear it. Researching your audience is a major key.

The last and final source I found that related to pitches was an article by Lisa B. Marshall titled, How to Make a Good Pitch. Although this referred to pitches in general and not specifically podcast/radio broadcasting, I found the 5 step tip to be transferable. She states, by using a condensed version of the elevator pitch, a solid foundation to your overall pitch is created. By answering the questions, How you help, What you do, Why you're the best/different and a call to action sets up a 5 sentence foundation a pitch for any discipline can grow from. 

With the research I found, I knew that prior to my presentation, I need to have researched the show I am emulating a bit deeper to find out more about other podcasts they produce while also researching my own topic more as well. I need to be ready to answer any questions and build a rapport with my audience while also keeping it to the point and relatively short.





"CBC Radio Pitch - Index." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.


McKinney, Paul. "Podcast: Making The Innovation Pitch." Phil McKinney. 15 Jan. 2007. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.
Marshall, Lisa B. "How to Make a Good Pitch." Quick and Dirty Tips. Mignon Forgarty Inc, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.