Many pitch competitions set strict time limits to the pitchers. This makes sense, as you don’t want to be there the entire night. But other than just practical reasons, your pitch should never be (too) long. A good pitch should be done in less than 3 minutes. This way you can tell enough about your company, but at the same time it’s not too much to bore your audience.
So how can you stick to the time limits in a pitch?
It’s actually pretty simple. You just got to practice a lot. When I say a lot, I mean a LOT. I always force the entrepreneurs I coach to practice their pitch at least 50 times. However, practicing your pitch 200 times will definitely not hurt your pitch.
When you practice your pitch, you should time it with a stopwatch or your phone. Check if you’re able to keep it within the time limits (without rushing). If you feel your text is too long, skip a few sentences. It’s better to have your text a little bit too short, compared to a little bit too long.
Want to know more about the perfect pitch? Make sure to check out the Ultimate Pitch Guide.
Hi! I’m Ralph. I help startups to get funded by designing a persuasive pitch.
