The most important part of a startup pitch is being able to deliver it confidently. However, this can seem impossible if you feel shaky about your public speaking skills.
Even if you are confident in your idea and have all of your numbers straight, anxiety can strike at the most inopportune moment, which may ultimately impact the outcome of your presentation. To help you “wow” potential investors and shake off the nerves, 14 Forbes Coaches Council members give their best advice for presenting your pitch.
Forbes Coaches Council members offer tips for giving more confident startup pitches.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Focus On Your Purpose
Connect with why you are doing this, and focus on that purpose. Practice “calming yourself down” beforehand through relaxing your body and breathing. Then, you will know how to relax better when you are pitching. Practice moving the focus from yourself and your body back to the room, the people there and your message. You are not as important as you might think you are. What matters is your idea. - Pernille Hippe Brun, Session
2. Admit That You Are Nervous
Stay truthful; tell yourself that you are nervous and will do your best at presenting. You can also work on your breath, especially on breathing into your heart space so that you can slow down your speech and speak cohesively. Investors want to hear the short and sweet story of how you reached your numbers, so if you can get that down and not deviate, you will be on your way. Lastly, allow them to ask you questions; don’t think you need to fit all of the information into your initial pitch. - Clara Angelina Diaz-Anderson , ClaraFying Coaching and Consulting
3. Set An Intention For What You Want To Experience
Set an intention for what you want to experience during the presentation. I created a proprietary tool to tune into the objective of a meeting, as well as the deeper intention. With clarity on those elements, you reinforce the benefits of your approach in your mind and consider the evidence that it works. These steps calm down and dissolve your negative self-talk, thereby instilling confidence. - Rosie Guagliardo, InnerBrilliance Coaching
4. Live Your Story
When giving a pitch, it is very important to live your story. Teaming up with someone to help you practice your pitch and give you honest feedback will help ease your nervousness. The investors want to believe what you’re selling. - Tonya Fairley, TS Fairley Leadership and Personal Development Co
5. Practice Until Your Pitch Becomes Second Nature
There is value in nervousness. Feeling nervous shows that you care and floods your body with adrenaline, which can be the fuel you need to do a great job. However, most people don’t welcome how nervousness makes them feel. Here is the trick: You must thoroughly prepare, practice and rehearse until your pitch becomes second nature and you can talk about it naturally with anyone. - Mari Carmen Pizarro, Whole Leadership Systems
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6. Show Up Authentically And Confidently
Preparation is critical. Show up authentically, respectfully and confidently. Know the key points—specifically, your numbers—so well that you are able to speak about them conversationally. Trust that you will not need to squeeze everything you want to say into your pitch. You will have the opportunity to include more detailed information in the Q&A. - Lindsay Miller, Reverie Organizational Development Specialists
7. Stop Trying To ‘Pitch’ And Focus On Communicating
The first step is to get “pitching” out of your head; focus on communicating effectively instead. Ideas that offer innovation accompanied by numbers rooted in realism don’t need pointless theatrics. If anything, those theatrics detract from the value of your presentation and may cast doubt on your credibility. In business, less is often more. Allow your talents and gifts to make room for you. - D Ivan Young, Dr. D Ivan Young
8. Don’t Think That This Pitch Will Make Or Break You
Try not to up the stakes too much by thinking that this one presentation will make or break the company. Remember, you are trying to create more conversations. Following the marketing paradigm of awareness, interest, decision and action, getting more interest is what you are aiming for. You are not trying to get to a decision or an action right away, but you do want to return for more in-depth talks. - Kelly Huang, Genesis Advisers
9. Remind Yourself Of What You Care About And Why
Pitching to investors can be very daunting. Nervousness, even fear, is often prevalent. How can you deal with this? First, remind yourself of what your project is and why you care so much about it. Close your eyes and revel in that. Second, imagine you are speaking to a trusted set of friends or colleagues who also can see the great potential here. Let joy and passion drive you! - Ash Varma, Varma & Associates
10. Choose The Right Focus
Do you believe in your own idea? What’s the worst that can happen? What does it mean to “wow” investors? What will it take for you to turn your lens from self-consciousness to the value you can bring to your audience? It’s a matter of the focus—what you focus on will determine how you show up. You might be thinking of yourself as a performer, which might not be the best way to do it if that’s not you. - Chuen Chuen Yeo, ACESENCE
11. End As Strongly As You Start
The easiest way to “wow” an audience is to end as strongly as you start, preferably with a connecting story or analogy. Most presenters fizzle out at the end and forget to wrap things up with a bow. Do this, and you will be more powerful than others. - Natasha Ganem, Lion Leadership
12. Forget About Yourself
It may sound strange, but forget about yourself. It’s about your audience. Think about what’s in it for them. Why should they want to listen to you? Focus on whatever problem your idea solves and the benefits for the target audience. Memorize your introduction to start strong. Have a compelling call to action in your conclusion. You know your stuff. Who knows? Maybe your idea will change the world. - Susan Sadler, Sadler Communications LLC
13. Create An Emotional Connection With A Compelling Story
Investors will need to see the numbers, but their confidence in you and your ability to succeed with the startup venture will largely be related to the emotional connection you create as you tell the story of your idea and how it will solve a problem in the marketplace. You have your ducks in a row, so believe in yourself and let your passion shine through - Jonathan H. Westover, Utah Valley University & Human Capital Innovations, LLC
14. Join Toastmasters International
The best and most cost-effective way to become a better public speaker is to join and get active in Toastmasters International. It’s a powerful learning laboratory. If you need to get good at public speaking quickly, join two or three clubs at once and volunteer for speaking opportunities as often as possible. You even can use the clubs to practice for your professional pitch presentations. - John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises
