Shine Bright at your Next Business Pitch.
I must admit - it's a rare occasion that I find myself lost for what to say. In fact, I'm always working hard on reminding myself "Jenn...more listening, less talking" in both my personal and professional life.
So, when I was asked to do the 'new member spotlight presentation' in the networking group I had recently joined, saying Yes was a no-brainer! (15 minutes of spotlight time is a gift for any entrepreneur looking to share their mission with the world, right?!)
With the presentation scheduled for Friday, I booked time in my calendar to sit down and put together some slides on Thursday. 60 minutes and I would be onto the next thing on my to-do list - or so I thought.
2 hours and many half-complete slides later - I still wasn't nearly in a spot to confidently shine in the spotlight.
Damn. Why was this one SO hard?!
Well, because this presentation was about me and my business. Not a specific skill that I would typically host a presentation around to share my knowledge with others. This was just about me...and that felt really self-serving and uncomfortable when I was really being honest with myself.
I took a break and came back to it - filling in the gaps, refining my thoughts, and creating logic around the story I wanted to take my audience through.
Far too many hours later, I finally had a presentation that I felt great about and delivered it with confidence and enthusiasm.
Not only did it feel great to deliver but the feedback I received was also exactly what I had hoped for!
Believe me, after 15 years of doing this, I know that great business pitches don't happen by accident or luck! They happen when you spend the time to thoughtfully prepare, collect your thoughts, refine your message and show up as the most authentic, passionate version of yourself.
I hope that the foundational tips and pointers I've outlined below help you in getting unstuck from figuring out what to say and have you leaving the meeting and doing your own humble-brag-hair-flip like our friend Alexis Rose ☺.
6 Nuggets to Consider for Your Next Pitch Presentation
🎯 Determine the top 3-4 things you want to share with your audience about your business.
(This will likely be different based on the context of the group.)
📣What's the logical storyline that will naturally cover the 3 things determined above?
Sketch this into a loose outline that will help you create a cohesive, natural flow.
👁️🗨️ How can you visually tell this story and speak to it naturally?
No one enjoys listening to a presenter narrate what's on the screen word for word. Use visuals to create structure, illustrate and complement what you're saying. Leave room to read the audience's body language and share your personal anecdotes and stories.
🦹♀️ Everyone like to talk about "what" they do - but there are lots of people who do what you do.
Instead, spend more time on the "why" and the "how" - this is your opportunity to express what sets you apart from everyone else and makes you the right choice!
📅 Don't leave this until the 11th hour as I did!
Block some regular time into your calendar (even 15 minutes here and there) to continually build out and refine your key messages, create visuals that help you illustrate your key points, etc. Having these elements available in your marketing resource library makes pulling together a presentation so much easier and faster!
🚀 When you have it finished, consider how you can repurpose the material for other uses.
You can likely slice n' dice portions of your presentation into website content, blog content, 1-page service overviews, social media graphics, etc.
If you're still finding yourself stuck and spinning your wheels, send me an email! Sometimes 15 or 20 minutes of talking it out with someone else is all you need to gain some clarity, get outside of your own brain, and get unstuck!