The Human Side of Pitching

 

'All Guns Blazing'

or

'Cool, Calm and Collected'?

 

 

Pitching is something every entrepreneur does in their sleep

In fact, it's just a natural part of being an entrepreneur. They are always pitching to investors, clients, conference audiences and anyone else who listens.

 

Founders tackle the technical side of their business plan and pitch decks for their presentation head on, so that it represents the best that their new product has to offer.

Typically they can spend weeks perfecting their images, graphs and crunching the numbers for those big meetings.

 

Why then do so many forget just how important the human side of pitching is? This is the actual personal style the presenter takes on when in front of an audience or investor and it can be the downfall of a great product pitch. 

 

The TWO key elements to the human side of pitching are Visual and Vocal.

Visual is body language, and it comprises of everything from eye contact, hand gestures, facial expressions, head movements and lower and upper body stance. 

Vocal is the sound coming from the speaker's voice, including clarity, articulation, rate, volume, emphasis, enunciation, tone and projection. 

 

Do entrepreneurs have to all of a sudden become a motivational speaker jumping about the place with a full unmitigated force of energy and enthusiasm? Of course not, but getting in touch with their own unique style of delivery is essential for great pitching.

 

There are many different styles of delivery, but the two most common types are 'All Guns Blazing' or 'Cool, Calm and Collected'.

 

'All Guns Blazing' is where the founder uses his body language and voice to the max. Everything goes into full mode from their hand gestures and facial expressions to their voice projection, emphasis on buzz words and volume.

 

This works great for individuals who can infuse high energy into a room and engage the audience with enthusiasm for their product.

 

'Cool, Calm and Collected' means a presenter keeps everything in balance and speaks in an easy and controlled manner.

This method will never work for anyone who is overly animated or expressive, it holds them back, but works for those whose personality is quieter and more reserved.

 

The worst thing an entrepreneur can do is to mimic somebody else's method, as it always appears fake and turns people off. 

The best thing an entrepreneur can do is to discover what they do really well that comes naturally to them and practice it until it becomes second nature to them.

 

Remember, once you have an investor interested in your actual product, they will then look to invest in someone who they believe are genuine and trustworthy. The best way to show them that is to project your own unique human side when pitching, it works every time.

 

Great example of a perfect 'human' pitch:

 

David Arnoux from Twoodo is a prime example of a founder who nailed his personal delivery style perfectly at the StartUp Bootcamp Amsterdam 2013. His technique is calm, confident and controlled, which relaxed the audience and had them listening intently throughout.

A full breakdown and analysis on his style can be viewed HERE