How long does the movie trailer last? A minute, two? Enough to make you buy a ticket and watch the whole movie. Pitch is just that, your trailer. In a few minutes, you need to show the best scenes that will make the audience want to see the whole story.
Why is pitch important?
You can have the best product or service in the world, but if you do not know how to present it, it remains a hidden gem in the drawer. Investors and partners don't just buy numbers, they buy stories. And your job is to tell a story that will remain in their ears long after you've left the stage.
And yes, pitch is not reserved only for stage lights. You will pitch your idea at networking events, conferences, panels, lectures with short conversations in the corridors, at the stand or during the coffee break. Every opportunity to explain your idea to someone is actually a small pitch.
Small rules for big impressions
We all know the classic tips: Be clear, have a good presentation, do not read from paper. But there are a few other tricks:
- Start unexpectedly
The classic "I am Ivana and my idea is …" will not make anyone raise their head. You need to immediately draw the audience into the situation, give them a picture that they can feel and that awakens their emotion. The more vivid and realistic the scene, the more likely it is to listen to your solution.
Try: ‘Imagine a quiet morning, a coffee overlooking the sea, a casual conversation with a friend. And then gossip! The glass breaks, the crying, the child runs around the tables… You wonder what the children do in the cafe in the first place? While on the other hand, you are the mother who at that moment wanted to be swallowed by the earth. It was from these moments that the idea was born to create a café where children explore freely and parents drink their coffee without stress."
- Tell the story
Every good idea works as a scenario. It has a hero (user), a problem (frustration), a solution (your product or service) and a happy ending (result). It is a formula that the audience understands and remembers. If you talk through characters and emotions, investors will remember you much easier than through graphs and figures.
- Show passion, but also vulnerability
Investors want to see that you believe in what you do, but also that you know how to recognize the challenges. A pitch with no problems can act as if problems are yet to come. Reality and honesty sometimes sell more than a perfectly designed presentation.
- The team is a film crew, not a solo actor
Everyone loves the lead actor, but the movie makes the team. If you show that there is a team behind you that knows how to design, sell, run a business, the investor will not only watch the presenter, but the entire future idea factory.
- Micro-targets, not just millions
If your goal is a €100,000 investment, don't throw your tickets on the table right away. It's much more powerful when you show that you know how to build step by step. Your first goal can be to arrange one-on-one with the investor. Investors like to see that you can think pragmatically, not just in big dreams.
- A place that is remembered
Just as movies have a striking ending, so pitch must make an impression. The audience then decides if they want to continue the story with you. Give them a call to action that is personal, funny or intriguing, something that will stay in their minds and that will encourage them to approach you.
Try: ‘If you want to be among the first to say ‘I was there when it all started’, contact me after the pitch, coffee is on me.’
Pitch is not born, he is built
No one was born a perfect speaker. Pitch is built by practice: rehearsals in front of friends, mistakes at smaller events, videos you will look at and tell yourself “Wow, this is awful.It is in these mistakes that you grow.
Next time you walk into the hall, don't think you have to be like Steve Jobs. It is enough for you to know how to "shake" the audience at least so much that they want to see the whole film.
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