Practice Your Pitch

Now that you have a pitch deck, it is essential to convey the right message to investors in a simple and clear way. Remember, investors care about their return on investment. However, they need to know that you are the best person for this business, that you know the market, and know your competitive advantage as this is what sets you apart from competitors in the market, and be convinced to invest in your venture. One way to convince them is through storytelling.

📺 Watch the following video to learn how to sell your business through storytelling.

Example Pitches

📺 Healthtracka TechStars Demo Day Pitch

📺 Kibo School GSV Cup Pitch

Pitching/Public Speaking Refresher

Let's spend the rest of this lesson refreshing your memory on some of the key things you learned about presenting in your Communicating for Success class. These public speaking skills are extremely valuable when pitching to investors.

Anxiety Management as a Public Speaker

According to Craig N. Sawchuk, Ph.D., L.P. from the Mayo Clinic,

Public speaking can be a source of anxiety for many people, ranging from slight nervousness to extreme fear and panic. Individuals who suffer from this fear may avoid public speaking situations altogether or struggle through them with shaking hands and a quavering voice.

📺 Watch the video below to learn about how to manage anxiety as a public speaker.

Self-Assessment

📝 Now that you know what to do about anxiety when you are doing public speaking, let’s get you tested and see how well you can manage your anxiety while speaking publicly.

Confidence in Public Speaking

When you're getting ready for a presentation, it's normal to feel overwhelmed. Even if some people seem to be naturally gifted at giving great presentations, it's not an easy task for anyone. But there is always a way to make that better.

📺 Watch the video below to learn about the 3 Ps to becoming more confident as a public speaker.

Other strategies for developing self-confidence can be listening to your favorite music to relax or doing something you like beforehand, wearing a favorite or comfortable outfit, and/or get inspired by a speaker you look up to.

To give a compelling presentation, you need to be in the right state of mind and stay focused. It takes time and mental discipline to pull off a stand-out presentation. With the tips provided, you'll hopefully feel better equipped to prepare and present a powerful speech that you'll be proud of. Keep in mind that building confidence is an ongoing process that becomes easier with practice.

Body Language

We have previously looked at how you can control your anxiety and show self-confidence during your speech. These two elements are important in successfully delivering your speech to the audience. It is equally important to review how your body Language should also align with what you are presenting.

📺 How should I use my body language for my own benefit as a presenter? Watch the video below to learn how you can do that.

Practicing Delivery

Practice, Practice, and Practice a little bit more.

No one can deny that the best way to mastery is practice, and that should be your motto and your first go-to.

These five steps you can use to practice your delivery:

  1. Go through your preparation outline aloud to check how what you have written translates into spoken discourse. Is it too long? Too short? Are the main points clear when you speak them? Are the supporting materials distinct, convincing, and interesting? Do the introduction and conclusion come across well? As you answer these questions, revise the speech as needed.

  2. Prepare your speaking outline. Use the same visual framework as in the preparation outline. Make sure the speaking outline is easy to read at a glance. Give yourself cues on the outline for delivering the speech.

  3. Practice the speech aloud several times using only the speaking outline. Be sure to “talk through” all examples and to recite in full all quotations and statistics. If your speech includes visual aids, use them as you practice. The first couple of times, you will probably forget something or make a mistake, but don’t worry. Keep going and complete the speech as well as you can. Concentrate on gaining control of the ideas; don’t try to learn the speech word for word. After a few tries you should be able to get through the speech extemporaneously with surprising ease.

  4. Now begin to polish and refine your delivery. Practice the speech in front of a mirror to check for eye contact and distracting mannerisms. Record the speech to gauge volume, pitch, rate, pauses, and vocal variety. Most importantly, try it out on friends, roommates, family members—anyone who will listen and give you an honest appraisal. Because your speech is designed for people rather than for mirrors or recorders, you need to find out ahead of time how it goes over with people.

  5. Give your speech a dress rehearsal under conditions as close as possible to those you will face in class. Some students like to try the speech a couple of times in an empty classroom the day before the speech is due. No matter where you hold your last practice session, you should leave it feeling confident and looking forward to speaking in your class. If this or any practice method is to work, you must start early. Don’t wait until the night before your speech to begin working on delivery. A single practice session—no matter how long—is rarely enough. Allow yourself at least a couple of days, preferably more, to gain command of the speech and its presentation.