Bitchin' About Pitchin"

Bitchin’ About Pitchin’
 
Confession: There is no one worse at pitching their own story than me. On the other hand, if you are one of the nonexistent few and prefer a long rambling diatribe that confuses rather than illuminates, I am your guy.
 
Luckily, I have a new manager who was able to explain it to me in terms that I could understand. Most of you know that I was a stand-up comedian. It seem a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, but I was. Rachel explained to me thusly, pitching is like crowd work. You know, the annoying comedian who immediately after taking the stage, looks into an innocent face in the very front row and asks, what do you do for a living? 
 
Audience Member: I’m in sales.
 
Comedian: It’s hard to believe out of 10 billion sperm you were the fastest.
 
That’s crowd work. Bad crowd work. But crowd work.
 
Thank goodness, pitching it is not about finding out what a producer does for a living. You know that…hopefully. Successful pitching is about connecting. Finding a common thread between you and your audience and using it. This requires a couple of things going in.
 
Make it short and leave your audience wanting more. If they have questions, so much the better. Rachel prefers three to five.
 
A bit of research.  Know your audience. Check out IMDB Pro and any other useful tool that will tell you who you are talking to.
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Listen!
 
Most pitches are over Zoom now so invest in a Ring light. And if you wear glasses, watch for ring reflection.
 
And most importantly, slow down. Take a few deep breaths and appreciate that you have made it further than most. You are pitching YOUR ideas to someone who can do something about it.