The Imperfect Pitch

Submitted by: , Communication Specialist

As entrepreneurs, we’ve all learned how important it is to be able to talk about ourselves and our company to a roomful of prospects. So we often spend a great deal of time and energy wordsmithing just the right message to tell people what we do, who we serve, and how we do it, all in 30 seconds. We imagine that the perfect combination of words – the perfect pitch – is the ticket to convert those prospects into clients.

It’s a good start, but it’s only half the job. The other half is in learning to present ourselves in such a way as to call attention to us, have people think of us positively, and intrigue them enough to want more information.

Too often, entrepreneurs use their elevator pitch unconsciously. The words come out of our mouths automatically, and as such they carry no passion, no emotional investment, no conscious intention.

It’s best for every presentation – and that’s what this is, a presentation, intended to communicate a message to a particular audience at a particular time – to feature an aspect of improvisation. Improv allows you to be conscious and in the moment, choosing your words as you speak. It allows your audience to get a sense of your true personality, which is ALWAYS more interesting and appealing than the perfect automaton that a lot of us tend to be in moments like this.

Let me just strengthen that point, because it’s crucial: Perfection is boring. It’s easy to ignore, because it’s flawless. But authentic, human and imperfect is downright appealing.

So go into a networking event with a strong sense of what you’re going to say, but not with a script. Memorize a few key words, but not a paragraph.

When most people launch themselves into formal presentations, no matter how brief, one of two things tend to happen:

1. They become someone else, or
   
   
2. They become a smaller, less interesting version of themselves. This is because they are putting themselves into unfamiliar (or at least, not familiar enough) territory, a wave of anxiety kicks in, and all of a sudden they don’t know how to be anymore.

The cliched answer is, of course, to be yourself. But what does that mean, exactly? Who am I really? And if I’m being myself, why do I have to speak so loud?

The pleasantly surprising answer to this is that whoever, however, whatever you’re being in the moment before you open your mouth is exactly the right way to be. If you’re feeling anxious, that’s perfect. If you don’t know what to say, that’s perfect too.

Most of us hate the sensation of anxiety and want to make it go away. We don’t realize that anxiety can be useful. It can be a resource that you use to pump up your energy level and make yourself more interesting, more appealing, and more conscious. Most stage performers report that they continue to experience stage-fright throughout their careers and insist that the only time they really worry is when they notice an absence of butterflies in their stomach before a performance – when they don’t feel it, they don’t know where their energy is going to come from.

So instead of expending energy trying to suppress your nervousness, let the energy stay so you can use it. The next time you’re entering into a situation where you’re going to publicly present your elevator pitch, decide in advance to be nervous. Choose your anxiety, don’t let it choose you. And when your moment comes, you’ll use that added energy to deliver a terrific, imperfect pitch.

Pete Machalek holds a Bachelor’s degree in Speech & Communications from Gustavus Adolphus College and Master’s degree in Communication Study & Film Production from the University of Iowa. He’s been a manager involved in advertising and marketing, responsible for the creation, analysis, and measuring the effectiveness of advertisements and marketing pieces. Machalek has been a curriculum designer and a teacher, a writer and editor, filmmaker and critic. He produced and directed an Academy Awards semifinalist in 1991.

, Communication Specialist
SAGE Presenting
612.384.0763