This is the week that I have been dreading. I have never done a pitch before and am nervous at the thought of doing this for the first time. I am also a person who is not very fond of doing presentations. However, looking online for pitch advice has made me more at ease of making my pitch. Below are the following websites that I have found useful pitching advice:
1) BBC Academy: The killer pitch- pitching tips
When beginning my search for pitching advice, this website popped out at me. I am familiar with BBC as a reliable network for information and, therefore, felt comfortable using it as a source. After looking through the transcript, I found these three tips helpful:
a) Research + Plan
- know the audience: match the tone of your pitch to your audience
b) Be Passionate
- believe in what you are pitching
- have a clear, exciting + enticing idea that will stand out among the rest
c) Be Clear
- Don't pitch too many ideas- pick your best one!
2) Quick and Dirty Tips: How to Sound Better
When I first came across this page, I did not think that I could trust this source, so I skipped right past it and kept on looking for more reliable sources. However, I found myself coming back to this one page. After looking at the website in the about section, I found this site to be very reliable. In fact, the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips is Mignon Fogarty, none other than Grammar Girl (podcast show). After discovering this fact, I found this site to be reliable. After reading through the advice on How to Sound Better in pitches and even in regular presentations, I found these tips helpful:
a) Use your Natural Pitch
- important to keep your voice as low as naturally possible by taking slow, full deep breathes- will help to keep your nerves under control
- think about changing the pitch of your voice on certain words or phrases
- think about the important words, phrases + sentences and modify your pitch to draw attention to them- DOESN'T NEED TO BE A BIG CHANGE
b) Change your Speech Rate for Impact + Momentum
- SLOW DOWN!
- take time to let your words settle + digest with your listener
- talk slightly faster or slower when you are about to deliver important words
c) Choose your words carefully: Use Repetition
- repeating important words + phrases makes them more memorable, impactful + persuasive
3) Instigator Blog: 15 Quick Pitch Tips for Kick Ass Presentations
When I first came across site, I wasn't sure because blogs are not usually consider reliable sources, especially with the title of this blog. However, after looking in the about section, I felt more comfortable knowing what this man's background is and what exactly he does. Once I knew that I could trust this blog, I began to read and realized that this man is very insightful and seems to have a lot of experience. These are the top tips that I found impacted me the most:
a) No Wimpy Words Allowed
- wimpy words diminish credibility + the power of presentation
- statements such as "I think...." or "We believe...." are considered wimpy- the audience knows you think it because you are saying it
b) Keep it Simple
- the audience needs to be convinced that you know what you are talking about, without getting lost in jargon or acronyms
c) Tell Us What You Do Upfront
- within the first 30 seconds of your presentation, I need to know exactly what you do + why should I care
- if you can't get that boiled down into 30 seconds + you can't start your presentation with that information, you are going to lose most people
- this specific tip can apply to introducing your topic for the podcast + why it is important- this will keep the audience interested
d) Don't Save the Best for Last
- Common mistake- people want to end with a punch
- the "aha!" moment really belongs at the beginning
- most often people leave this until the end when most people have stopped paying attention
e) But Don't End Weakly
- ending still has to be strong
- point of the ending isn't to explain what you do
- the end of your presentation is there to hammer home your key message (of which I would recommend only having 1-3)- the things you want people to remember when they leave
- ending doesn't have to be flashy- has to be concise, convincing + concrete
After reviewing all these tips, I think the best thing for me to do before my pitch this week is to sit down and group together all my information that I would like to discuss about my topic and see how it would really emotionally connect with the audience. In my opinion, when viewers/listeners can connect emotionally with a topic, that is the best way to make an impact and the best way to keep the audience's attention. Once I get my information gathered, I would answer the questions and then find an interesting way to connect all the information into a clear and concise paragraph. LAST STEP- PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
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