The Guide to Pitching Yourself

Understanding how to properly pitch yourself is an invaluable skill that will steer you closer to your goals and garner the attention of those who can help you fulfill them.  However, it can be quite intimidating—and frankly, outright uncomfortable—to praise yourself for all your accomplishments in the hopes of obtaining an opportunity you’ve been seeking out. Despite how uncomfortable it can be, a powerful and concise pitch can be greatly impact your career for the better and open doors for you that you may never have thought possible. We'll be going over the following key points:

In this guide, we’ll discuss how to effectively pitch yourself, boost your confidence when delivering your pitch and finish strong with a final call to action.

Before we jump into the ins and outs of identifying the ultimate goal of your pitch, it’s imperative that we first define what a pitch is and what it serves to accomplish. The goal of a pitch is not to close a deal, get hired or to instantly gain a lifelong connection. The goal of a pitch is to garner enough interest that you secure a second conversation.

While the act of pitching yourself may have a goal of its own, it can only be successful once you fully understand what your ultimate goal is and what the ideal outcome you’re hoping to achieve is. Sure, you already know you want a new job, opportunity, funding or connection, but what are some of the driving forces behind it?

To get a clearer understanding you’ll want to have an answer to all of the following questions.

You don’t have to be satisfied with answering these questions alone so go ahead and dive even deeper into understanding your ultimate goal. Your responses should allow you to really hone in on what it is you actually want which then allows you to get straight to the point when pitching yourself. Ideally, you want to have an authentic answer to each of these questions, not because you’ll need to be prepared to answer these per say, but because not knowing what you want will hinder your ability to successfully convey and/or convince the other person that you’re someone they simply cannot pass up on.

After asking yourself some tough questions, you’ve probably noticed how often you refer back to a significant moment in your life that led you to where you are now. Maybe it was realizing there weren’t enough women in your industry and feeling compelled to change that. Maybe it was when a longtime hobby of yours suddenly turned into a successful business. It could have even been a subject you fell down the rabbit hole learning about and ended up becoming an expert in over time. Whatever that defining moment may have been, know that it is a valuable story to the person you’re pitching yourself to.

What makes your story so valuable is that it sets you apart from everyone else. It demonstrates your personality, interests, drive and credentials. However, in order to make your story effective you’ll need to refrain from regurgitating your resume, and instead focus on presenting relevant information and transferable skills in addition to your professional/academic qualifications.

When asked to consider what’s relevant to the goal you’re trying to achieve, your brain should automatically start piecing together all the things you’ve done that relate to the topic at hand, regardless of professional experience. This is an important topic to lead with as it will help the person you’re pitching get a better understanding as to why or how you’re the right person for the opportunity.

Let’s say you want to take on a marketing project because you enjoy spending your free time learning new marketing tactics and studying how to utilize best practices, but your resume has little or nothing to do with that topic. Your best bet is to draw upon the relevant skills or experience you have that can demonstrate your knowledge or working experience as it pertains to your goal.

Do you have a website where you’ve demonstrated your interests or have you taken classes on the subject? Gather all the relevant information you can and jot down some bullet points that will help you deliver your story in a concise and effective manner.

What makes transferable skills so beneficial when pitching yourself is that these skills will always be useful and relevant no matter what your background may look like. The key here is to show your skills rather than list them off.

Ideally, you’ll want to talk about experiences such as a leadership role you’ve had, how your researching skills led you to better understand problems you would be the perfect person to fix, how your organization skills made you the most efficient employee or how your troubleshooting skills often comes to the rescue on the job, etc...

There is a plethora of transferable skills to claim and maybe even some you didn’t know you had. Take the time to research transferable skills and compile a short list of relevant skills you can touch on when presenting your backstory. Remember, your goal here is to demonstrate what you have to bring to the table. Keep your information short and to the point while consistently connecting the dots between what you have to offer and what is required for the opportunity you’re pitching yourself for.

What you have to say matters, but how long it takes you to say it matters most. The premise of an elevator pitch is to be able to sell yourself in the time it takes an elevator to get from one floor to another. That means you have roughly 30-60 seconds to deliver your pitch and leave a lasting impression.

While this can quickly become overwhelming and anxiety-inducing, here are some of the simplest and most effective way to manage your time wisely and prevent yourself from fumbling your words. 

Once you’ve decided upon the final version of your pitch, time yourself while reading it out loud. If your pitch exceeds 60 seconds, you’ll have to make some adjustments. It may be tempting, but never speak faster to include everything you want to say. It’s better to rearrange or take out parts entirely than to rush through your pitch. This part can get tricky especially if you feel that everything you have to say is necessary, but keep in mind that your goal is to get a second conversation where you can divulge the rest of that information.

The saying remains true that practice makes perfect. You have a short time slot to say everything you need to which means there is little room for error. Take the time to memorize your pitch in its entirety to ensure that you aren’t forgetting any parts or the order that it needs to go in. A great way to test yourself is to randomly deliver your pitch throughout the day. This way, you’ll know if your pitch comes to you naturally and sounds as authentic as it should. 

As valuable as feedback is, take caution when being told to make changes to the contents of your pitch. At the end of the day, no one knows you or your story better than you do, so keep in mind that any final changes should be the ones you’re willing to make. 

We all have found ourselves struggling with confidence at one point or another, and as difficult as it may be to step into a more confident persona in your day to day life, it is especially difficult to do in a situation where you’re expected to boast about yourself and your accomplishments. However, delivering your pitch with confidence is a sure-fire way of relaying your passion for the topic or opportunity you’re hoping to get and securing that second conversation.

Fortunately, it is easier to be confident when you’re prepared for the situation you’re going to be in, and with the help of this guide, you’re already well on your way to delivering your pitch as your most confident self. Here are some helpful tips to give you that much needed boost of confidence.

You’ve practiced your pitch with the intention of finding errors and managing your time, but now you’ll need to practice your pitch with the intention of truly hearing how you sound. It’s as simple as recording yourself on your phone to hear if you sound monotone and nervous, or clear and confident.

We’re all guilty of throwing out filler words in our every day conversations. It’s almost second nature for some of us to constantly say, um, uh, like, you know, right, etc., when we speak. However, these words typically mean two things—uncertainty and hesitation. They’re called filler words because they fill the gap between what we’ve previously said and what we’re thinking of saying next.

When delivering a pitch, these words must be avoided at all costs because they tell the person you’re pitching to that you aren’t sure of your next sentence or maybe even the last sentence you’ve already said. Breaking the habitual use of these words in your day to day conversations is a great way to prevent yourself from falling back on them during your pitch. And, of course, the obvious method is to practice your speech beforehand so there is no room for uncertainty.

Body language can give a lot away. You may have the perfect pitch prepared and sound as confident as ever, but if your body language doesn’t demonstrate confidence, it’ll be difficult to be persuasive and come across as authentic. Keep in mind these nonverbal communication tips to help improve your physical demeanor when pitching. 

Even though you’ve reached the end of your pitch, you can’t afford to lose momentum here. This is your opportunity to express interest in the next steps whether that be another in-person meeting, an interview, a presentation, or a simple phone/video call to discuss more about your background and qualifications. Depending on the context of your pitch, the way you close and the next steps you’ll seek out, will vary. However, the one thing that does not change is your desire to have another conversation. 

If time permits, inquire about the other person’s business or project in order to build rapport. If you’re clearly running out of time then simply move on to the next steps.

The most important thing you’ll need to do is first express what you hope to happen next in a way that can also be perceived as a gain for the other person. Briefly summarize what the goal of your pitch was meant to convey and what you’d like to achieve in your next meeting.

The final step is to provide the other person with a means to contact you by whether that be a business card, email address, phone number or even a resume you have on hand that already includes your contact information.

Feel free to ask for the other person’s business card or contact information, and be sure to ask when they suggest you follow up. You want to close with a call to action whether that be on their part or yours.

Pitching yourself can feel intimidating, but with a more well-rounded understanding of the many ways to refine and strengthen your pitch, the experience can become far more exhilarating. With practice comes perfection, and the more you put yourself out there, win or lose, the more experience you’ll gain that will only serve to benefit you in the future. Remember, that while these tips can help you pitch yourself in any given circumstance, one pitch will not fit the needs of every encounter. Utilize these tips to help you create and refine more than one pitch that will keep you confident and prepared for any opportunity to achieve your goals.