Tips for Non-Pitchers
For many startups and entrepreneurial ventures, the ability to use speech to compel and persuade people to action may be your biggest challenge.
You know you have an amazing idea. It’s going to extinguish some major pain points, bring innovation to a stagnant product or service, and/or change the world for the better. That’s why you’re dedicating so much sweat, time and possibly money into bringing this idea to fruition. Now, if only you could convince people to come alongside and infuse their time, talents and resources to make this great thing happen.
As a quick follow-up to my post on our founder pitching team, I would love to give some advice for those that are thinking, “We just aren’t communicators. We have highly technical founders that have not spent any time in front of an audience. We barely have one great presenter on our team.”
Here are some thoughts for you:
Schedule practice time. Very few people are born public speakers. Those kids that are hams at family events don’t necessarily turn out to be good presenters—they just wanted all the attention in the room at the time. In the beginning, it’s difficult to stand up by yourself in front of a mirror and spit the words out. After mastering that, add your best friend or spouse and discover all the weird ticks and awkward behaviors that are introduced just by the addition of a pair of eyes on you. What is that weird swaying thing I’m doing…am I a six-year-old girl with a full bladder? Build confidence and engage a few people at a time until it feels casual coming out of your mouth and non-robotic.
Work out different pitch scenarios. What do you say if you have 8 minutes, or when you only have 60 seconds? More importantly, what’s the startup story in one sentence? In just four words? The more succinct, the better. Your listener won’t be able to repeat your full pitch to another person (or another potential investor), but they could echo a concise statement if you deliver one that resonates with them. Also, consider if your delivery would change if it were an extremely casual situation.
Nail the short ones. You’ll have infinitely more brief interactions with people that only have time for a brief descriptor than opportunities to share the entire market opportunity and competitive landscape. Realistically, everyone in the startup should have these on lock. These quick hitters could lead to additional conversations, or opportunities to introduce these interested parties to the excellent communicators on your team. You might not be comfortable letting multiple team members hold court at a meetup of angels or sit face to face with a VC firm, but, the team should be able to naturally and effectively present a nutshell version of the business opportunity at any time.
Imitate different audiences. As you role play the different pitch scenarios, imagine courting different kinds of listeners. From the Distracted Apathetic (better say something to grab their attention quickly) to the Insta-Questioner (get him to stop asking questions every 3 seconds), the Conclusion-Jumper (So, you’re basically _________ [most obvious competitor]?) and definitely the Uninformed Doubter (I bet someone out there is doing that already). There are many different types of people—have fun with it. Vary the number of listeners as well.
Get comfortable working with your slide deck. Any variable you add to the mix is a potential distraction that can hurt your delivery. Keep the slides simple and uncluttered. A smaller number of slides means less transitions to worry about. If you can’t stealthily advance your slides with a clicker, recruit a team member to be your slide jockey and advance through the order for you (you better practice with this person so they learn to recognize your transitions). Memorize the slide order so you can keep the whipping-your-head-around-to-make-sure-you’re-on-track to a minimum. Lastly, realize the potential for a mishap with the projection equipment. Seems like I’ve been to at least a dozen events where two or three people are huddled over the projector trying to figure out a connection dilemma. It’s 2013, that shouldn’t happen anymore, amiright? It’s going to happen to you, sometime, so, be able to continue without a hitch when it does.
There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave. ~Dale Carnegie
Hopefully, some of those points I covered may help you become more comfortable pitching. I’ve put together a few more pitching resources to help you:
- Recommended points to cover in your pitch. via ffVC
- A showcase of some great pitch decks at Pitchenvy.
- Robert Scoble’s thoughts on what makes a great pitch.
- Public speaking teaching group, Toastmasters, has a few more tips for improvement.