Pitching is the single most important skill you will ever need. It is the key in winning baseball and softball games for a reason. She who controls the ball, controls the game. Ditto for dealmaking.
You have a great mission, an awesome project you need to fundraise for, a fantastic product you are seeking investment capital for, an innovative service, idea. Well, guess what? If you can’t excite people about it in the brief and unexpected windows of attention that life throws at you, you have nothing. Pitching your story is daily practice of telling your story in the most concise and compelling ways.
Think about a major league pitcher’s repertoire of curveballs, knuckleballs, and my favorite – the split fingered fastball! And at speeds of 90 miles per hour and higher. Amazing! Each of these pitches are deployed with deadly precision depending on the batter with the ultimate goal of striking him out.
Your repertoire
Know your batters. Know the situations you can create opportunities in. Then craft a version of your story to pitch for each one. Here are five examples:
1 The Elevator Pitch
Your classic two minute story soundbite. Who you are, what you do, why it is so relevant and then – what do you do?
2 The Waiting For a Drink at the Bar Pitch
My favorite. This is where your ears and memory serve you best. Do a little chit chat, take note of what they are drinking and throw your seven words or less pitch followed by your business card. Leave them intoxicated but intrigued.
3 The Let’s Have Lunch Pitch
OK, this is the long inning. You have about an hour to move from first pitch to a substantive dialogue about your project. Remember, the most important letter in the word “lunch” is u, as in you. So, listen. Don’t do all the talking. Leave room for the person to imagine themselves in your story.
4 The Meeting Pitch
You can explain what you do in encyclopedic detail or you can inspire the person on the other side of the table and let them to imagine. Guess which one works better?
5 The Business Card Exchange Pitch
This is the curveball. They are expecting the pitch so you need to be ready with the unexpected. Be brief, be ready with your card, and be personable. Chances are, they are not going to remember too much in such a brief moment so make sure they remember you.
When Not to Pitch
Never accept the invitation to do a pitch over the phone or via email. It offers the other person too much opportunity to dismiss your effort. A face to face meeting allows you to get an immediate read on the person and fine tune your pitch accordingly.
Your Story in Six Slides
A final thought.
A great way to think about telling your story is to think of it in six slides. Here’s an excerpt from Fred Wilson that captures the spirit of this idea perfectly:
So when you sit down and build your pitch deck, think of six slides that will inspire and leave something for the imagination. The best part of six slides is that you will get through them in time to have a real substantive conversation face to face about your business. Imagine that.
So glad you asked. As you know, I am a big Less is Less Stress person on all levels so here is what I think:
Curiously, or not at all.
Enthusiastically, or not at all.
Helpfully, or not at all.
Boldly, or not at all.
And most importantly…
Briefly.
A blog used as a place to push out a message or put up more information is a see saw with one kid. Think of it as a conversation, argument, watercooler, and all of a sudden you are now a party in a playground.
I remember being taught to “show, don’t tell” in my writing classes. In writing blog posts it is better to “share, don’t tell”. If you really must go off on something, then “start up, don’t tell”. The message here is that blogging is a dynamic, not a soap box and in this world, writers are readers are writers.
I like to think of myself as a salonista and my blog as a curated creative space. My posts are dinner party questions that can start a chain reaction of responses, retorts, reprimands… you get the idea. It is simply not good manners to talk too much. I suggest saying something amazingly perceptive, letting the words hang in the air for everyone to marvel at and taking another sip of that wonderful cognac cradled in your hand.
Far more intriguing to provoke people than to preach.
When you sit down to write a post, a proposal, or a pitch, be brief and brilliant. Oh, and leave a space for someone to become curious about you. People have a window of about a minute where you can capture their imagination before their focus fizzles so you need to inspire, and let them imagine.
Make it easy for people to want to respond to you.
Here’s an excerpt from a post by Fred Wilson who talks about less being more in inspiring an investor.
So when you sit down and build your pitch deck, think of six slides that will inspire and leave something for the imagination. The best part of six slides is that you will get through them in time to have a real substantive conversation face to face about your business. Imagine that.
Cast on 15″ worth of stitches using both yarns. You will need to knit a swatch to find out how many stitches equal one inch.
Knit first row. Then knit every row. Every few rows, double wrap the yarn as you knit the row and drop the loops on the next row.
Cast off when you get to the length you need to to drape it luxuriously across your shoulders.
This is well worth stopping time for and making for yourself or someone you want to wrap your love around. I suggest you get used to people stopping for a second look.
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If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Honestly, if I get any lazier I will simply calcify.
I love knitting lace. No, what I really love is wearing lace that I have knit. The peek of shoulder through the openwork, how it seems to float around you.
What I don’t love is following those verkockte patterns with long repeats to remember. I have not been able to retain large amounts of information in my head with any success since I took the SATs in high school. So, how does a lazy, impatient, train riding knitter do lace?
Listen closely: Think thin yarn, pick thick needles. Knit all rows or purl all rows. Voila!
Lazy Hoong Yee’s Purly Girl Lace
This is glorified garter stitch done big. This is easy, no remember, no pattern, no goofing up garter stitch that says lace over your shoulder with a wink that says,” OK, OK, it’s not doily worthy knitting but it got you to look twice, didn’t it?”
This is knitting designed to move when you move. No stitch patterns to keep track of. Just purl, girl.
Here’s a little video to show you how.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Jack Dorsey, the Creator, Co-Founder and Chairman of Twitter makes a clear presentation of the four key points that defined his experience in creating Twitter at the 99% Conference. I especially liked what he said about “building a beautiful product experience to build trust”.
Well, I am ready to whip out my sketchbook and making my ideas happen.
Enjoy the video. It is well worth it.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
I am a momspy, artspy and nonprofit knitter. Hi! Welcome to hoongyee.com, my blog where you will find style notes for people who change the world. read more>
photo by ajq82
