Take a minute… 60 seconds. How could that short space of time change your life? When you convert your audience into fans of you and your business. When you transform a stranger into someone who wants to invest attention, time or money in you and what you do. And how do you achieve that in just one minute? With your 60-second pitch.
But what makes a successful one? Identifying your goals for your pitch and planning it around your audience is just the start. There are three vital aspects and I will outline them in more detail now…
1. Be Memorable
There’s no point in making all that effort with your pitch if your audience is going to forget you and what you said as soon as they walk away! Language is a crucial aspect of the art of being remembered. The use of embedded commands, tag questions, metaphors, tonality and gestures will be essential to your pitch.
Just think of your pitch as a nice chocolate muffin. There are many muffins out there but once you find one that is really good, you don’t forget it. And if it’s got chocolate chips, that’s even better. I’m sure the chocolate muffin lovers understand what I mean by this! So, remember how important it is to be remembered. And of course, remembered for the right reasons. 👍🏻
2. Be Entertaining
OK, most of us aren’t planning a career as a stand-up comedian, but a great pitch needs to be entertaining and to also tease the audience! Here’s a good ratio to remember: the less time you have to pitch, the more energy you need to put in. So put loads of energy into it! Make sure your audience feel that the 60 seconds of their life they’ve just spent listening to you were worthwhile. Tease them enough so that they think about what you are saying and do it in an entertaining way.
Engage with them! Don’t just blurt out what you want to say and be gone. Quite the opposite: speak and move with purpose to get the reaction you want. Make sure those people enjoy those 60 seconds with you as much as possible. Now, back to the stand-up comedy. Humour is powerful, so aim to incorporate it into your words, tonality and gestures. Because humour (of the right kind) breaks down barriers between people like nothing else!
3. Be Magnetic
What’s your 60-second pitch all about? Results. And that all depends on how magnetic it is – how many people it inspires to talk and engage with you afterwards. That’s a great metric to keep in mind. What are those people saying? Which part of your pitch created the biggest impact? This will give you great feedback about what’s working really well and what could probably be changed or tweaked! In the end, you want people to act after you have delivered your pitch, so always have an expected outcome in mind when preparing and before presenting during those very valuable 60 seconds.
Some Final Tips
Remember that your communication is:
- 10% the words you say
- 90% will be nonverbals and tonality
And take with you this little nugget…
The elevator pitch should be a teaser which is then followed with a system aimed at closing the prospect.
Finally, and most importantly, deliver it with confidence and enjoy the process!
How could 60 seconds change your life?
How could a powerful 60-second pitch transform your life? Perhaps you’d like to attract more people to engage with you and your business. Or maybe you want to win over a new demographic for your products or services.
Whatever you’re looking to achieve, a well-planned pitch could really make a difference. Want to know more about creating your best 60-second pitch?
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Take care! – Jose
