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Equal-Invest
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Resources
Perfecting your Pitch
The following videos are taken from the practice event which took place on October 17th. They show great moments from pitches and comments from the panellists. Watch them to get some useful tips.
Contents
- Think about your introduction
- Tell a good 'story'
- Communicate confidently and clearly
- Make a clear business case
- Know your market
- Know your competitors
- Talk about your track record
- What is unique about your business?
- Use visual aids
- Environmental benefits
- Be clear what you are asking for
- Wrapping things up
- Answering questions
- Practice makes perfect
- Feedback from the panellists
- Questions to the panellists
Think about your introduction
It's very important to capture your audience's interest from the start. Strategies you can see here include the use of rhetorical questions to 'hook in' the audience, immediate and succinct communication of the 'vision' and 'personalisation' of the pitch by talking about a typical end user.
Tell a good 'story'
Think about the impact of your pitch. In these clips Enterprises talk about the background to their enterprise or use anecdotes to interest the audience.
Communicate confidently and clearly
Try posing questions that you answer yourself immediately to help your audience follow and engage with your pitch. Use adverbs, 'firstly', 'secondly' and so on to link your ideas. Maintain eye contact with your audience and don't speak too quickly! Watch this clip to see some of these tips in action.
Make a clear business case
Do your homework! Make sure you know your figures and can communicate them clearly. Make sure you talk about the impact of your Enterprise to leave a lasting impression.
Know your market
Be clear about your target market. Clear market knowledge will impress potential investors.
Know your competitors
Be aware of your competitors so that if you're asked about them you know where your product fits and the strength of your position.
Talk about your track record
Talk about the experience of your team and customer satisfaction ratings to raise investors' confidence in your enterprise.
What is unique about your business?
Talk about what makes your Enterprise unique, and different from other similar organisations.
Use visual aids
'Props' or visual aids will help you grab the audience's interest.
Environmental benefits
Part of your social purpose may be around environmental issues, and you should highlight the benefits that your programme may bring.
Be clear what you are asking for
Talk clearly about why you need investment and how you intend to spend the money.
Wrapping things up
End your pitch on a positive note to make a lasting good impression.
Answering questions
Answering panellists' questions is an opportunity to provide further information about what makes your project so special. Make sure you answer the question clearly and concisely.
Practice makes perfect
It's not always possible to get things right first time. Some brave people volunteered to present again in the afternoon, having worked in the interim on points of improvement with their mentors.
Feedback from the panellists
Some great tips and advice on pitching from the panel.
Questions to the panellists
More useful tips when the Enterprises had the chance to put their questions to the panel.
