Rookies Checklist 

New to this pitching thing and want to make a good first impression?

Great at informal pitches, but less comfortable making formal ones?

Sick of not getting the results from your pitches that your efforts warrant?

Want to take less time preparing your pitch?

Ready to apply some best-practice thinking?

Our Rookies Checklist will get you started.

Follow these steps and you will see an immediate improvement in your preparation and delivery. Stick to them, and you will be pitching like a pro sooner than you dreamed.

Commit to a structure.

The right structure can help you build and deliver compelling pitches. It will save you time, money, stress and potential embarrassment. It will create clarity for you and your audience and provide you with the ability to easily tailor your pitch to any length, environment or audience. And it will free you up to be as creative as you like with your delivery. Without the right structure, you will find it hard to improve. We have one here.

Consider your audience.

They have the final say. They are the stars of the show. What do you know and not know about them? You can fill some gaps here. And plenty of our blogs provide helpful examples.

Know your environment.

Control it, or be controlled by it. You’ll find some tips here. Tell a story of transformation.

Facts and figures only go so far. A compelling vision they can see themselves in will take them – and you – much further. What’s your story?

Anticipate questions.

Anticipating questions helps you build a better pitch and guarantees a more confident and composed delivery on the day. Who might ask what? And why?

Be grateful.

Every pitch is a gift. Make sure you genuinely thank the people who are giving their time to hear your thinking. They have other things they could be doing and you need them more than they need you.

Rehearse.

You want to perform better on your feet, so commit to doing what every performer does: rehearse. Following your structure will free up time for rehearsals. Diarise and prioritise this time. If possible find an audience to give you feedback. Don’t stop until you are ready to put your best self on stage.

Follow up.

Have a plan for maintaining contact, momentum and connection. Once your audience leaves the room they will move onto other things. How will you stay in their consciousness? Staying connected in meaningful ways can be the difference between a quick yes and a slow no.

Debrief. 

What did you do well? What could you have done better? What do you need to work on for next time? Continuous improvement and high performance only happen when individuals commit to being better. As soon as possible after a pitch review your performance and, if possible, get others you trust to give you honest feedback. And leave your ego at the door if you really want to improve.

I’ve called this a Rookies Checklist. But it’s also exactly what the professionals do.

Commit to it, and watch your pitch skills take flight.

Happy pitching!