april 2014 BCBusiness 25 pETE rYaN
intel
M
aking a pitch isn't limited to
startups and salespeople;
getting the green light on
your pet project might mean
delivering a pitch to your
boss, just as securing funding might
mean honing a 30-second delivery
to your friendly neighbourhood
banker.
UBC Sauder School of Business
professor Thomas Hellmann and
Lance Saunders, executive vice-
president and managing director of
advertising agency
DDB Vancouver,
share the crucial aspects of a killer
pitch.
Know Your Goal
If you don't know where you're going,
you're talking in circles. Hellmann
says too many people don't ask
themselves what the desired outcome
is before delivering their pitch. If
you're a tech startup, for example,
"the end goal of a pitch is to enable a
second meeting with the person that
you're pitching to," he says. If you're
an advertiser, you want the client to
sign on the dotted line. Saunders asks
himself the same three questions
before every pitch: What do you want
them to know about yourself and your
services? What do you want them to
feel? What do you want them to do?
Show, Don't Tell
Saunders emphasizes making the
audience feel something. "We make
our decisions based on emotion," he
insists. "That's not advertising speak;
that's human psychology." Affecting
your audience on an emotional level
comes from demonstrating your
prowess with enthusiasm, not listing
your skills and accolades. "It's that old
chestnut: I can tell you that I'm the
funniest comedian that you've ever
heard, or I could tell you a joke and
you can take away that I'm funny,"
says Saunders. He singles out Steve
Jobs as the penultimate charismatic
pitch person, and breaks the late tech
mogul's presentation philosophy into
three key areas: informing, educating
and entertaining.
Make an Authentic Connection
According to Hellmann, a good pitch
advertises the merits of the person as
well as of the idea or proposal. "I tell
people not to be fake," he says. "Being
honest or truthful is very attractive,
and that's a good pitch. People are
I t ' s y o u r
b u s I n e s s
Perfecting
Your Pitch
How to bring persuasion
and charisma to
any presentation
by Kristen Hilderman
M A r K e T i n G
04/14
y
2 6 v i S u A l l e A r n i n G
2 8 O F F i C e S PA C e
3 1 C A l e n D A r
W
p24-31-Intel_april.indd 25 2014-03-07 2:07 PM
