Making pitches is regularly a part of growing a business. You might be pitching to potential investors, trying to convince them to invest in your company. Or you could be making a pitch to employees, colleagues, or partners, hoping to get them onboard with an idea or some changes you want to make. Whatever your pitch is for and whoever you’re giving it to, its purpose is to convince your audience of something you want them to do. So if it’s boring or easily ignored, you might as well not be making it.

Pitches need to be engaging if you want to get the right results. They have to provide value for the people watching, telling them what’s in it for them. But how can you get his message across?

Design Engaging Presentations

A good presentation doesn’t rely entirely on visuals, but it’s still a crucial element. The visual aspect of your presentation gives your audience something to look at (other than you) and can help to summarize what you’re saying in more easily digestible points. It should be there to support your pitch with additional information and visuals. Engaging professional presentation designers is a guaranteed way to nail the design of your presentation. Instead of treating it as an afterthought, make the design of your presentation a priority. The right design can be ten times more engaging than something thrown together last minute.

Get to the Point

There’s nothing worse than a pitch that goes on too long without ever really getting around to the main point. Anyone watching wants to know exactly why they’re there as soon as you start talking. They need to know the main message of your pitch and why you’re making it, so they understand why they should be paying attention. So don’t bury the lede if you want your pitch to be effective. You need to know the point of your pitch before you start putting it together. And remember that it will vary depending on your audience and your aim.

Deliver Value

Providing value for your audience is essential if you want them to engage with your pitch. If you’re not offering anything of value, they’re unlikely to give you their full attention. It might seem like you’re the one in charge, but it’s really your audience who gets to decide whether you’re worth listening to. But how do you provide the value they’re looking for? You need to tell them why they should care about the topic you’re covering, while making your pitch interesting and entertaining. Think about how to connect with them and what matters to them to provide the value they’re looking for.

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Grab Attention from the Start

You don’t have long to get the attention of your audience. If you spend the first few seconds fumbling with cue cards or fiddling with a mic, you could end up losing their attention right away. It’s tough to get your opening right when you feel like the pressure is on to grab everyone’s attention, but you also have time to work on what your initial gambit will be. Think of something attention-grabbing to say, whether it’s an interesting fact, a question, or something your audience will relate to. Practice your opening so you can get it down and ready for the real deal.

Go Off-Script

Sticking really closely to a script creates the risk of making your pitch robotic and boring. Even if you’ve worked really hard on what you want to say, it could go down like a lead balloon if it just sounds like you’re ready off a page. One of the things that can help inject some lightness into your pitch and help you connect with the audience is to go off-script occasionally. It only needs to be a comment here or there, perhaps engaging the audience directly to show you’re paying attention to them too.

Work on Your Close

Closing your pitch is one of the most crucial parts. It’s your last chance to leave an impression on your audience, and you need to give them something good to take away. Looping back around to where you started can be a good technique, linking your whole presentation together. Bring it all together and reiterate your main point, ensuring your audience has a good understanding of the purpose of your pitch and what happens next. Include a call to action to inspire them to do something.

Make your pitches more exciting, and you could get better results, no matter what your pitch is for. If you can engage your audience, you can leave an impact on them.