When it comes to practicing there is a big misconception going on. Many people say: ‘you shouldn’t practice your pitch too often, this makes your pitch sound unnatural’.
It’s quite often the same group of people who use lots of bullet points in their slides, as they are scared for a blackout. Summarizing, these people don’t practice their pitch and their slides are full of distractions.
This is a real pity, since they honestly believe they are doing the right thing.
Are you one of these people? Don’t worry, you are about to learn why and how you should practice your pitch.
Why practicing doesn’t make your pitch sound unnatural
If you practice your pitch a lot, you will have no trouble recalling the text of your pitch. In fact, you should have studied it so thorough that if somebody wakes you up in the middle of the night, you wouldn’t have trouble doing your pitch.
The reason why you should study your pitch text so thoroughly has to do with your focus. A good pitch is always a combination of two things:
The Perfect Pitch = Saying the right things + Saying it the right way
If you studied your text thoroughly, your brain doesn’t need to focus on that part during the pitch. Since your brain has focus left over, it can focus on the way you present it.
Now your brain has time to focus on your body language and the way you speak. If you didn’t study your text, your brain is working on all these things at the same time. You probably understand that doesn’t yield the best results.
Studying your script
Studying your script looks a lot like studying for your exams when you were on high school. It starts with simply reading your text over and over again. At some point you can try to cover up your text and see if you can replicate it.
When you mastered this, it’s time to practice out loud. Use the voice recorder of your phone to check if you are able to replicate the text of your pitch for the full 100%.
When you are done, it’s time to add your speaking legend to it. Practice your pitch with the right intonation, volume and silences.
A quick summary:
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
Full Practice
When you are done studying your pitch text with the right intonation, volume and silences it’s time to focus on the body language.
Start off by practicing in front of a mirror and pay attention to your body language. When you did this a few times it’s time to practice in front of a camera. For some people this might be intimidating and a bit confronting, but this is the only way to master your pitch.
Use the camera of your phone and record yourself during your pitch. After you completed your pitch, play back the video and focus on your body language. If you really want to excel at this part, try watching your video without the sound on.
Do you notice any differences? Do you seem happy? Do you seem confident? Do you get a pleasant feeling while looking at this video?
If you are not satisfied with the results of your practice, show the video to some friends or colleagues and ask them for their feedback.
A quick summary:
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
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who believe in the misconception that they should not practice their pitch. They believe this makes your pitch seem unnatural.
Now you’ve read why this is not the case and you should to the opposite. Take the time to practice and keep on practicing until you are satisfied.
The best pitchers worldwide practice up to 200 times before they perform a pitch.
What you learned
– How to study your pitch
– How to practice your pitch alone
– How to practice your pitch with others
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