The secrets of a failed pitch
With the boom in the number of start-ups created, the pitch has become an exercise that every entrepreneur must master in order to communicate effectively about their project. But while many keys to success are given, some pitfalls remain.
In folk tales, the latter is an object that allows you to cast different spells depending on whether you want to become invisible or turn into a frog. In short, its main quality lies in its ability to produce multiple effects on a given audience depending on the objective of its holder. The pitch is exactly like a magic wand.
The majority of entrepreneurs use it only to launch a single spell. In other words, they create and learn a single pitch and then repeat it over and over again, regardless of the audience. For this single spell, there are many well documented methods and techniques. But to increase your power of persuasion and convince a variety of audiences while integrating the day-to-day evolution of your project, it is necessary to learn several pitches.
What is your objective?
A simple but often overlooked question is the objective, which determines the most important message you will share. If your objective is to raise funds, you will insist on the financial aspects of your project, on its economic and human viability. But if your main aim is to make your product known to as many people as possible, you will dwell on its characteristics and qualities and even give some technical explanations.
Selected and detailed examples
In most cases, the lack of adaptation to the audience is easily seen in the examples chosen and detailed. The more expert your audience is on your subject, the less the examples need to be presented in a pedagogical or simplified way. On the contrary, if your audience is large, you should choose one or two concrete, easy-to-understand examples and take the time to detail them.
The embodiment
Again, if you are facing professional investors, you will probably want to project an image of a confident, experienced and sure-footed entrepreneur. If you are facing the general public, this recognition as an expert on the subject, although present, will perhaps be less necessary. It will be replaced by a speaker who is capable of teaching his or her project and transmitting it with passion and enthusiasm.
Avoiding detection
The worst thing a speaker can say is "Don't worry, I'm used to doing this pitch, I've done it dozens of times". This is precisely where you need to worry! There is nothing worse than a speaker who repeats the same thing. Not only does he bore himself, and thus his audience, but he also no longer questions his speech. As with spells that come out of a magic wand, each pitch is unique. It is not a question of reinventing everything every time, but of trying to vary the catchphrases, the structure of the argument, the examples chosen and of course the conclusion.