What Makes a Good Pitch Video?

We’re thrilled to launch our second annual pitch competition, a chance for women in this community to win cash and services for their business. The event on November 10 will be our first—and hopefully last—held online.

Because the format has changed a little, we wanted to share a few pointers to create a great virtual pitch that you can use if you become a finalist and have to pitch live at the Enthuse Foundation Pitch competition.

1. Get the basics down

As ever, you should include all of the ingredients of a winning pitch:

• A clear vision
• A great understanding of your customer
• Up-to-date sources and the latest trends
• Passion about the problem you’re fixing
• A good demonstration of your experience
• An awareness of your challenges

2. Check your body language

Forbes suggests that the most effective pitchers send two sets of nonverbal signals:

“One set of signals conveys status, authority, and confidence. You send these signals by standing tall, holding your shoulders back, keeping your head straight, speaking clearly, and in a lower vocal range.

The other set of nonverbal signals conveys warmth, empathy, and likeability. These signals include open palm gestures, leaning slightly forward.” Other likeability signals are eye contact and smiling.

3. Get camera-ready

It might feel daunting to put your pitch to video, or even that it will take a lot of extra work, but there are just a few easy considerations that can take your presentation from good to great.

• Location—choose an area that’s visually nice (check Rate My Skype Room on Twitter for good and bad examples!)
• Lighting—find a room with plenty of light. Try not to stand directly in front of a window though, so you don’t get backlit
• Sound—project your voice and try and eliminate as much background noise as you can
• The shot—try to get your full head neck and shoulders in the frame
• Take a stand—stand up rather than sit to feel more invigorated

How do you incorporate your deck?

You have lots of options. You could have slides running in-picture, or inject slides into the video. If you’re not familiar with any video editing software or if that task feels daunting, you could always use video conferencing software like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Hangouts in screen share with you and your presentation and record it. Or, you could simply stand and present your deck on a screen if you have one.

It might help to record a couple of runs before you shoot your final piece so you can see how you come across. It’s tempting to overthink the video and try to make it perfect, but we’re really just trying to see the pitches as they would be if we were lucky enough to be in the room together. We can’t wait to see what you come up with! Apply today for your chance to win.

Watch last year’s winning pitch