5 Steps to Craft the Perfect Gaddie Pitch
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What is a ‘gaddie pitch’, otherwise known as the ‘elevator pitch’? The gaddie pitch is a succinct, persuasive speech that is used to inspire and create interest around an idea, product, your organisation or yourself.
We all know the moment a bit too well.
You’ve just met someone at an industry event.
You introduce yourself and they do the same. They describe what they do, and you discover that they are the perfect potential client.
Then, they ask that question.
‘So, what do you do?’
You panic, then start to blabber about everything that you’ve ever done in your professional life, and blabber… and blabber.
Your new acquaintance then makes their way to the refreshments and never returns.
You vow to never let this question catch you off guard again. And we promise once you’re through with this article, you never will be.
Elevator Pitch Meaning
A successful personal pitch should last for approximately 20 to 30 seconds, and should be motivating, attention-grabbing and memorable; really resonating with your audience, whoever they may be. Writing a paragraph about yourself isn’t exactly the easiest of tasks, but with these five steps, you will master the art of the gaddie pitch.
How to Pitch Yourself
Identify Your Objective
First off, you’ll need to decide on the aim of your pitch. What is the focus? Are you trying to excite a potential client about a new product on the market? Maybe you would like to develop an engaging speech that explains exactly what you do in your job? Once you’ve chosen your objective, you can then proceed to build around this foundation.
Explain What You Do
Let’s say that you are creating a personalised speech that will describe your career. You will need to explain exactly what your organisation does. Limit this part to one to two sentences – set the scene in a concise manner, so that you can then delve into what your role is with context.
Before you begin writing, really think about what it is that you really want to resonate with your receiver. This will be the first thing they hear about you, so you want your introduction to really engage and excite.
The delivery of this part of your speech is also crucial. After all, if you aren’t thrilled to discuss what you do, then why should anyone who is listening to you feel the same? Emotion tends to stick with someone more than words, so if your passion really sticks, you’ll be sure to make an impression.
Communicate Your Uniqueness
Highlight what makes you and your organisation unique. After describing yourself and your business, you’ll want to delve into why you stand out amongst your competitors.
Ask yourself: ‘What is our point of difference?’ Then build on the answer.
Open Up Discussion With a Question
After you’ve identified and discussed your uniqueness, you should then involve your audience.
Make sure you’ve answered any of theirs, then proceed to ask them an open-ended question that perhaps prompts them to talk about their role in their business. Try to keep the conversation flowing by sticking with ‘career’ as the topic.
Combine Your Elements
Once you’ve crafted all of these separate elements, it’s time to combine them.
Read your gaddie pitch out loud and make sure it flows; eliminate any clunky sentences that might disrupt your flow and time yourself to make sure you keep within that 20 to 30 second time frame.
Cut out anything that doesn’t add value – your pitch needs to be captivating, so the shorter, the better.
Also, keep in mind that different audiences may require different pitches. Think of who you’re communicating to, consider some variations and tweak your pitch to suit.
Gaddie Pitch Checklist:
- Have you identified the aim of your gaddie pitch? Is it clear, concise and wrapped up in the first one to two sentences?
- Have you explained your role in your business?
- Have you communicated your ‘uniqueness’?
- Have you followed up with a question to engage your audience?
- Have you practiced your pitch? Does it flow? Is it 20-30 seconds?
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