Coo-ee! Let's talk pitching! 📣
We’re Pitch Slapping you again—so your audience doesn’t have to.
Pitch pain isn’t from nerves. It’s from bad habits that sneak into the room when no one’s looking.
Today we're talking about slide addiction, rambling, and a place every pitcher needs to move on from.
Each one comes with a fix—because once you can name the crime, you can stop committing it.
Let’s go.
Slideshow Alley
Where your slides go from support to the main act.
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DITCH:
- Using your slides as a surrogate script.
- Letting visuals carry your thinking.
- Prioritising outputs over outcomes.
PITCH:
Yourself. Use slides to support, amplify, or illustrate—never to upstage your story.
WHY:
You are your best visual aid. When your deck becomes the main act, you lose connection. People stop listening and start reading. If it was about your visuals, you could have just emailed them.
TRY:
Pressure test your pitch by rehearsing without slides. (Go for a walk and go through it in your head.) If your message can’t travel without a deck, it’s not ready to pitch.
Don’t narrate. Pitch.
Purgastory
Where your audience is stuck when you take too long making a point.
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DITCH:
- Storytelling that rambles.
- Setups with no payoff.
- Taking too long to get to the insight.
PITCH:
A promise of transformation. Start at the tension point. Only keep what earns its place. Your story should serve the strategy—not confuse it.
WHY:
People don’t have time for your prose or your process, unless either of them explicitly solves their problem. They want your point, well proved.
TRY:
Ask yourself: is this a story I like telling—or one they need to hear? Does it contribute to your promise of transformation?
Once you're happy try cutting it in half. Then cut it again.
Ask: “If I only had 30 seconds, what would I keep?” That’s probably all you need.
They came for your point. Not your process.
Gift of the Grab
The skill many of us mistakingly attach to pitching... to our own detriment.
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DITCH:
The mindset that says:
- charisma is key;
- if you don't like getting up on your feet, you're not the right person in the room.
PITCH:
Alignment. Where you and they authentically, and compellingly intersect. Bring what you want for them and why you are the best option together. Show them the value only you create.
WHY:
There's a reason you're in the room. They want to hear what you can do for them, not see how entertaining you are.
TRY:
When building your pitch, ask: “What belief am I trying to shift?” Make that your anchor. Prioritise substance over sizzle, and clarity over charisma.
Want for, not from.
Remember Missionary, not Mercenary.
Presentation Land
The place every great pitcher leaves behind.
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DITCH:
- A focus on outputs—it's not about your slides, or a "show-stopping" opening.
- Under-prioritising the opportunity—giving yourself too little time to get it right.
- The trap of simply sharing information.
PITCH:
A promise of transformation—that only you can offer. (The FROTO is invaluable.)
WHY:
Education without motivation moves nothing.
TRY:
Ask: “So what?” after every point you make. If you can’t answer it clearly, it’s not pitch-worthy yet.
Information without transformation is just noise.
From Systems-First Funding to Community-First Funding: A new model of ROI
Thanks to Penny Goodall and the Logan Communities for Children team for coining a new glossary term: Pitch Pants... which is what they all put on, for their Find Your Pitch sprint and Pitch Camp workshops this past month.