Our top tips for getting pitch-ready

So, our top tips for getting pitch-ready? It really boils down to three key elements.

On Thursday night, in conjunction with Red Bull Basement Uni, we delivered a pitching workshop for students at Monash University. The workshop was designed to give students the tools and confidence to pitch their own social impact ideas, and delivered in partnership with Google.

The level of social innovation inherent in the attending students was nothing short of inspiring; every student had faced a problem they wanted to solve, ranging from an on-campus chargers-for-coffee exchange initiative, to clean air breathing solutions. However, the entire group had absolutely zero prior experience with entrepreneurship. The challenge? Designing & delivering a crash course in theory & practical pitching skills all in under two hours.

Successfully pitching an idea can be difficult; succinctly describing a problem in one short phrase, whilst telling an engaging personal story & describing your businesses potential for future success is challenging at the best of times. Combine this with no experience and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a decent challenge.

So, our top tips for getting pitch-ready? It really boils down to three key elements:

1. Preparation

Preparation is unsurprisingly one of the key indicators for success when pitching, and we emphasised that practice does make perfect. Planning the structure of the pitch, rehearsing what you will say and when you will say it, are all key elements of preparation.

Proper preparation shines above charisma and natural speaking ability. Whether you read from cue cards, or speak from memory, the net result of proper preparation is the same — a well-polished pitch that logically flows from one idea to the next and clearly conveys what makes a business or idea unique.

2. Authenticity

Authenticity is difficult to describe — but when you see it, it is engaging and compelling. Illustrating this was a huge challenge for us!

We explained that authenticity equalises the super-confident from others who are less-so. It might described as sharing a part of yourself or your reason for being. We demonstrated our own pitch to get the message across.

In order to stand out, we coached students to share their personal struggle that led them to their idea, their passion for helping the community they live in, or their true desire to help the world.

A shared inner-desire can help complete strangers connect and understand each other and on the night, this ultimately helped students pitch their ideas.

3. Understanding your ask

Beyond pitching your idea to take on investment, pitching is an essential part of building a business. From taking on co-founders, to entering into partnerships, and selling to customers, articulating what you need is essential.

We explained to the students that when pitching, they need to carefully consider their audience and the outcomes they wanted to achieve. Students were coached to pitch for the things they needed — business partners, help with research or funds.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Tailoring a pitch to meet an audience’s expectation and understanding is essential for communicating effectively and we believe this direction helped the students articulate their ideas.

By the end of the night, we were bloody thrilled with the progress made by every student in the room. At the beginning of the workshop, we had a mere 4 volunteers offer to pitch their ideas. Buy by the end? Almost the entire cohort were eager to do so. Goes to show — being equipped with the right tools and structure can enable anyone to cleary & succinctly share a great idea with the world.

Thanks to Red Bull for having us!