You can have the best writing skills, the best body language and the best pitch slides, and your pitch can still be bad. The way you speak during your pitch is almost as important as the rest of the pitch.
Think about it.
Why was former president Barack Obama considered to be one of the best speakers in the world?
It’s because he knows how to use his tone of voice during his speeches. He knows when to speak loud, when to speak softly, when to speak fast or when to speak slow. But probably the most important quality of a good speaker is knowing when to use silence, which you will read in a bit.
Speak loud when it’s important
When you are at an important part of your pitch, don’t be shy to increase the volume. This way your listener understands that this part is important, which will increase your impact.
Speak slow when it’s important
Just like speaking emphasizes importance, speaking slower does the same. When you reduce the amount of spoken words per second, your listener will have more time to process what you are saying.
By giving your listener more time to process your words, you are more likely to create an impact with your words.
Use silence to let it sink
You just had an important sentence, which you spoke louder and softer. After this sentence it’s your job to maximize the impact of that sentence on your listener. The best way to do this, is by giving your listener two seconds to think about it.
The length of your silence should be determined by the complexity of your ‘important’ sentence. The more complex, the more time you should give. Since your pitch shouldn’t include to many complex sentences, your silence should be somewhere around 2 seconds. Practice the length of your silence in front of a group of friends and ask them their opinion.
You can read more about silence in a pitch in: Why 2 Seconds Of Silence Makes Your Pitch More Successful
Make them think you are confident and relaxed
Many pitchers mess up their pitch because of the nerves. The problem is, being nervous isn’t the problem.
Everybody is nervous, even the best pitchers in the world.
The point is, you shouldn’t show your nerves. By breathing in and out slowly a couple of times before you enter the stage you lower your heart rate. By doing this you become more relaxed and you will look more confident.
Make a legend for yourself
When you are done writing your pitch, you should include all of these methods visually on your paper. Let me explain this:
Open the file of your pitch text and give your text the following layouts:
| Normal sentences | This is a regular sentence with no special layout. |
| Important sentences | This is an important sentence which I made bold. I will speak slower and louder. |
| A break after your important sentence | I will end this important sentence with a silence. * SILENCE * |
By adding this structure to your text you have an easy time practicing, since you will know where to put the focus.
Conclusion
The way you speak, pronounce and add silence to your pitch can have a huge impact on the quality of your pitch.
Not only does this help your listener to process everything you have to say, it also ads credibility to you as a pitcher since you will come across more confident and relaxed. Use these tips actively when you are practicing and they will becomre natural during the actual pitch.
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