This article is written by Dr Virginia García Beaudoux, Communications Consultant for UN Women, UNDP, International IDEA, NIMD and other international cooperation agencies. Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, researcher and author.

  • The problem: When preparing a pitch, we focus on our interests, and we often forget to take into consideration the interests of those to whom the pitch is addressed.
  • Why it matters: The effectiveness of a pitch depends both on communicating precisely what we want and on taking into account the interests of the people we want to convince.
  • The solution: Seven ingredients and two recommendations, covered in this article.

In communication, less is more. Precision and brevity are two golden rules. But there is a third rule, often ignored, and so important, that in my opinion, should be the first: learn to decentre – understand that what is important for you, is not necessarily important for others. Exactly that is where one of the main obstacles to effective communication lives. Let me share with you seven ingredients and two recommendations to address the most important communication obstacles that we must identify and overcome when preparing a pitch.

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Ingredient #1. Investigate the interests of the people you are going to contact. What do they get recognition for? Who do they compete against? What is their budget? How do they make money? What are their main responsibilities? What are their concerns? What are their urgencies? To whom are they accountable?

Ingredient #2. Be clear about what exactly you are going to ask for: a promotion? To participate in a meeting? To make a presentation in a forum? To lead a project? To be part of a team? To change a procedure?

The next three ingredients consist of asking yourself three closely related questions.

Ingredient #3. Why would that person support me or a proposal of mine?

Ingredient #4. What “cost” would it be for that person to support me or my proposal? For example: would it cost them time, money, a political cost, or the cost of asking for a favour, or not supporting someone else to support me? Large or small, there is almost always a cost.

Ingredient #5. Ask yourself with the greatest honesty: if I were that person, would I do it? Would I support myself? If the answer is no, you need to correct your course. If the answer is yes, you are on the right track and now you are in a position to prepare your pitch. It is time to add the last two ingredients.

Ingredient #6. Ask yourself: what problem does my proposal solve for this person? What would this person/team/area gain from my proposal?

Ingredient #7. Finally, ask yourself one last question: how does my proposal add value to something that is important for this person/team/area?

Remember that the rule of thumb of a good pitch is being able to explain in very few words.

Based on these last two ingredients, you can structure what you are going to say. It is fundamental that you are very clear about what the comparative advantage or added value of your idea or proposal is.

Last, but not least, two recommendations

Recommendation #1. Don´t ask yourself, “What do I want them to think of me?” Instead, ask yourself, “What do I want them to know about me and what I am capable of doing?”

Recommendation #2. Make sure you offer a brief, concise and specific proposal.

Bonus track: three mistakes to avoid

Mistake #1. Including too much information. Find a key message and stay focused on it. Define your central idea, communicate only one message, not three. Don´t include everything you know about a topic, details are boring. Try this exercise: Imagine your message as a newspaper headline and summarise your idea into a single sentence. Discuss the details later, after you have said what you want to say.

Mistake #2. Not having an ending. Avoid saying things like “And that´s it.” Always know how you will start and how you would like to end your pitch.

Mistake #3. Do not make the presentation for yourself. We usually have detailed information and knowledge of the topic or idea of our presentation, but the listener may not have it. It is important to provide some context, very briefly, to ensure that the audience will be able to understand what we are going to communicate.

Finally, three takeaways

Takeaway #1. A formula that can help you to organise your ideas when starting to prepare your pitch is to write down in one sentence WHAT would you like to communicate, WHO would you like to communicate it to and WHY.

Takeaway #2. Every time you pitch, review your own communication afterwards and ask yourself if what you intended to communicate matches what you actually communicated and what you should have communicated.

Takeaway #3. One last key takeaway: always remember that the rule of thumb of a good pitch is being able to explain in very few words and in a simple way – “Why what is good for me is also good for you.”

Done reading? Make sure to share your own tips by leaving a comment below ⬇️

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