The Art of the Start - Pitching

Below is an outline of Guy Kawasaki's The Art of the Start with references to pitching as discussed on entrepreneur.com and inc.com.

Explain Yourself in the First Minute -

No one wants to know your life story. Do not spend the first 15 minutes of your presentation explaining how you got there. They want to know what you do first and then deduce from there.

Answer the "Little Man" -

Think that there is a little man on your shoulder asking you, "So what?" to everything you say. This should be your chance to respond to your "little man" by giving a strong example and elaborate by saying, "For instance..."

Know Your Audience -

Simple enough, know who you are talking to. Know about the organization, the executives that work there, what is the direction of the company. Learn from them - what got your audience started. Also know how old the audience will be, which leads us into the 10/20/30 rule.

Observe the 10/20/30 Rule -

During your pitch, use only 10 slides, you have 20 minutes, and use 30 size fonts. The real meat of your presentation should be able to be pitched with those parameters. Use the meat and get rid of the fat.

Set the Stage -

Be prepared! If something goes wrong, it is your fault because you have not prepared for the absolute worst. Get there early and make sure everything is going to plan and always have a backup option. Also ask how much time you have and ask if it is polite to go through the PowerPoint before questions.

Let One Person Do the Talking -

Teams are led by a leader. However, when the leader looks like they are not the expert on every single aspect of a pitch, it shows uncertainty within the entire team. Often time, team members will try to "save" the entrepreneur pitching. Do not do this! Allow the entrepreneur to talk and make sure he does the majority of the talking.

Shut Up, Take Notes, Summarize, Regurgitate, and Follow Up -

Take notes on what is being said to you. It looks like you are smart, you are writing down something that is noteworthy, you are anxious to learn and conscientious.

Rewrite from Scratch -

Every pitch and every time you perform your pitch, you will get some kind of criticism and have to make some kinds of adjustments. After a while, all of these fixes will make your pitch something you don't even know anymore. After making the right repairs and taking into consideration all of the advice you have been given, start it all over from scratch with a version "2.0".

Pitch Constantly-

Most importantly, practice your pitch over and over again. After about 25 times, you will be very good at it. There is no such thing as "rising to the occasion". Keep practicing.

What entrepreneur.com says (6 Steps to the Perfect Pitch):

I found an article that listed six steps to a "perfect pitch". The article mirrored much of The Art of the Start, but had some differences. The six steps are outlined below:

1. Less is always more.

- Exactly like The Art of the Start this step says to stick to the meat and bones and drop the fat. Perfect the elevator speech and get the presentation to exactly what needs to be said.

2. Never hypothesize. Execute!

- Use facts to support confidence. Do not use predictions without any support based with facts.

3. Leave the hockey sticks on the ice.

- Be reasonable and responsible. Leave "hockey stick" projections at home when they do not necessarily seem predictable. Don't sound stupid.

4. Learn to love discount stores.

- Learn to find wiggle room in your budget by cutting unnecessary costs. Investors like to see when everything is in line and you are choosing the best options spending-wise.

5. Rome was not built in one day. Your business will not be either.

- Prove how you can create and build with the money you are asking for. Do not allow for any impression that you are biting off more than you can chew.

6. Choose not to be the smartest person in the room.

- Know what you know, know what you don't know, and find the people who will help you find what you don't know. Build a strong and credible team around you. Kind of like The Art of the Start however make sure you still do the talking in the room!