How Can I Improve My Pitch?

by | Jul 21, 2017 | Elevator Pitch, Investor Pitch, Pitch Fundamentals, Startup Pitch

How Can I Improve My Pitch?

The simple answer to this question would be: practice a lot.

Before you dive into practicing your pitch, first make sure you did the following things:

  1. You created a clear outline for your pitch
  2. You designed awesome slides for your pitch
  3. You know how to use your body language in your pitch

 

When you checked those boxes, it’s time to start practicing.

In summary, there are 9 steps you should follow to practice your pitch.

  1. Read your text
  2. Cover your text and replicate it in your head
  3. Practice your text out loud. Use a voice recorder to see how you are doing
  4. Add your speaking legend. Practice your pitch with the right intonation, volume and silences
  5. Practice in front of a mirror
  6. Practice in front of the camera of your phone
  7. Watch the video to see where you can improve
  8. Watch the video without sound on to see where you can improve
  9. Show the video to a friend or colleague

If you want to take your practicing to the next level, you should read the full article on how to practice your pitch.

Read the full article here: This Is How You Practice Your Pitch In 9 Steps

How To Make A Good Pitch?

by | Jul 21, 2017 | Elevator Pitch, Investor Pitch, Pitch Fundamentals, Startup Pitch

How To Create A Good Pitch?

 

1. A good pitch has a clear structure.

A good structure helps you to keep the listener on the edge of his seat right from the beginning, straight to the end.

 

You open the pitch with a shocking opening, followed by the problem and the solution.

Then it’s time explain how you generate revenue with the business model, why your team is able to do this and lastly you ask the listener to do something in your call to action.

Click here to read more about the structure of a pitch.

 

2. After you created your structure, it’s time to design your slides.

Click here to read more about designing your pitch slides.

 

3. After your created your slides, it’s time to practice your pitch.

Click here to read more about practicing your pitch.

How To Pitch In Front Of A Jury?

by | Jul 21, 2017 | Pitch Fundamentals, Startup Pitch

How To Pitch In Front Of A Jury?

I’ve entered in many pitching competitions and I have seen the same thing happening again and again. You are really nervous to pitch in front of a jury, and then you walk in.

They are talking to each other and looking at their phone. You already were quite nervous, but it just gets worse and worse.

The trick is to blow the jury away with your first sentences.

During the opening of your pitch you should only have one goal in mind: Get the attention of your listener. Research shows that the first 7 seconds of a pitch will determine whether somebody will pay attention to the rest of it. There are a three ways to get the attention of your listener, right from the start.

  1. A personal story

When you start your pitch with a short personal story, you build a relationship with your listener in under a minute. A personal story helps the listener to get to know you better. At the same time the listener feels sympathy for you because you opened up and put yourself in a vulnerable position.

  1. A question for the listener

This one works especially well with large audiences as it forces everybody to listen and put their phones away. A question stimulates your audience to actively participate in your pitch.

Very important: this question should always be a yes or no question, as you don’t want to start a long conversation with your audience during your pitch

  1. A bold statement

This is my personal favourite. Starting off your pitch with a bold statement usually has a big impact on the listener. A good bold statement has a small shocking effect to the listener, which will ‘wake him up’ and have him listen to you for the rest of your pitch.

You can read further about how to start your pitch here.

Is It Possible To Pitch Too Early?

by | Jul 21, 2017 | Elevator Pitch, Investor Pitch, Pitch Fundamentals, Startup Pitch

Is It Possible To Pitch Too Early?

You can never pitch too early. Some might say that you should wait to pitch your idea until you have a patent on it. But trust me, getting a patent is way more complicated than you think and costs way more money than you’d expect. Also, it takes more than just the idea to grow your company. Even though somebody they might hear your idea and plan to copy it, the chances that they will actually execute it are close to zero.

Now let’s dive into the advantages of pitching:

  • Get better social skills
  • Increase your network
  • Get new customers for your company
  • Get potential partners for your company
  • Get an investor for your company

 

Here’s the article which goes further into this topic: When and Why You Should Be Pitching