Ah, the joys of pitching.
Who doesnt love a quick dip in a shark tank?
Quite a lot of people, unfortunately.
Luckily for them, pitching coach David Beckett is here to help.
Beckett has spent decades mastering the art of public speaking.
In 2013, Beckett foundedBest3Minutes, which provides in-person and online training in his method.
My goal is not to tell people what to say, Beckett tells TNW.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
AtTNW Valenciaon March 30, Beckett will provide his latest pitching workshop.
Ahead of the session, he shared some of his top tips for startups.
Tune in to your audience
Your pitch needs to align with the desires of your audience.Who are they?
Whats important to them?
How can you impress them?
Imagine youve created a crypto-powered parking app.
The execution comes from your product, process, and team.
A more powerful pitch will illustrate a real-world impact.
With the click of a button, your app cuts the time down to 60 seconds.
That example, however, may not enthral everyone.
To make your audience do what you want, it’s crucial that you know who they are.
Focus on the problem and solution
Your pitch needs to focus on pain and gain.
Thisshould fit into a simple statement that reveals what you’ve got the option to do for customers.
A human problem makes the issues more relatable.
What does the pain result in?
How big is the problem?
Will people pay to solve it?
How have you validated that?Investorswant these answers.
Things that especially trigger them are the size of opportunity and execution against that opportunity, says Beckett.
And the execution part is product, progress, and team.
Establish a clear objective
A successful pitch results in action.
The ultimate target is often a set investment, but startups normally need to take a different first step.
The most important outcome is maintaining a connection.
Whatever your objective, make it clear and memorable.
You may only have a few minutes to convince your audience to take action.
The goal of the pitch is getting to the next step.
Demonstrate your value
Investors want to see evidence that you’re free to execute your plan.
If youve got customer traction, explain whos using the product.
If youve got a demo, show the product working.
When time is short, a screenshot can suffice.
And what convinces people its a business, not a concept, is a working product and customers.
Once they say things out loud, they often find what they wrote is too technical.
Another is any funding that youve already raised.
Theres a couple of things that come from that.Firstly, people trust you.
Secondly, youve been through a due diligence process, so theyre unlikely to get surprises.
Captivate them with your opening
you oughta quickly gain the interest of your audience.
If it doesnt land, says Beckett, their support is almost certainly going to be a no-go.
Your delivery should emphasise the words that matter.
Beckett uses the example of a fictional delivery startup.
In a pitch, thefounderplans to say, We deliver a sustainable and energy-boosting doughnut to meetings near you.
If their focus is proximity, they can stress that doughnuts are delivered to a meeting NEAR YOU.
If their USP is sustainability, they can emphasise that we deliver a SUSTAINABLE and energy-boosting doughnut.
If theyre selling the energy effects, they can accentuate that its a SUSTAINABLE and energy-boosting doughnut.
For Beckett, the best balance depends on your allotted time.
In a half-hour corporate presentation, you might only need to memorise the opening.
In a short pitch, however, youll probably need a full script.
For a three-minute pitch, the pressure is too much for most peoples brains to manage, says Beckett.
Time to perfection
Beckett has done extensive research on our listening and speaking capacities.
Hes concluded that you should pitch a maximum of 150 words per minute.
If you speak faster than that, people cant follow, he says.
Its best to speak a bit slower so that people can process it.
Get a bit of air around the key messages, but with enough energy and speed.
Those 150 words will fit into approximately nine sentences.
A three-minute pitch, therefore, will typically comprise around 27 sentences.
If youre struggling to structure your story, those rough boundaries can help allocate the time.
David Beckett will be speaking at TNW Valencia, which takes place at the end of March.
If you want to experience the event, weve got something special for our loyal readers.
Use the promo codeTNWVAL30and get a 30% discount on yourconference business passfor TNW Valencia.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
