Your ability to pitch an idea determines so much in life.
If you can pitch an idea well… persuasively… convincingly… the doors of opportunity swing wide open for you. People listen to you, and take action. Things YOU care about become things THEY care about.
Your ability to advocate increases.
Your ability to win people’s commitment increases.
Your ability to change communities and cultures increases.
Basically…
It makes a big difference.
But what if you suck at pitching things?
Is there hope for you in life?
Or what if you’re decent at it… but you want to get great at it? And you don’t know how?
Here’s my #1 piece of advice for anyone pitching anything to a live audience:
Start with “the problem.” Start with the thing that your pitch is a solution for. Start there… and only then move to talking about a solution.
Here’s why:
Human desire begins with lack. You desire something because you lack something. You desire something because something is off. Something’s not right. There’s a “problem.” Human desire is always aimed at a solution… but it’s always sourced in a problem. And if you want your audience to really “feel” the desire… you have to go the source of the desire – i.e. the problem. THAT’S what you point to first. THAT’S where the ‘desire-stirring’ work is really done. Not in mentioning cool, fancy features and benefits that will make your audience drool… but in talking about the thing that bugs them, annoys them, terrifies them, keeps them up at night.
Biggest mistake in pitching?
Only talking about the solution.
Only talking about the action you want people to take… the product you want to sell… the benefits you think people will experience… and failing to point to the PROBLEM these things are supposed to solve.
Every pitch is a response to a problem.
Identify the problem. And usually that’s where you’ll want to start. And if you don’t start there… do address it at some point. Preferably very early on.
Of course…
If we start talking about copywriting…
Much nuance is needed.
Because there are SOME contexts in which it’s okay to just talk about benefits/outcomes… for some interesting reasons…
But that’s for another post. On another day.
