27th
Over at TED University, David S. Rose gives a great, semi-impromptu talk about how to pitch. Impromptu: Don’t knock the man’s hair like the first commenter.
You might be a social entrepreneur, working not for yourself but for the people. You might be in it for the good and not the money. You might not even be pitching a VC or raising money. At some point though, for whatever reason, you’re going to have to convince a group of people why they should care about what you’re doing. Working for the good and not the money is no excuse. You need to know how to pitch — how to get your point across efficiently, interestingly, meaningfully.
What’s the single most important thing you have to convey? Integrity. Because that’s the key thing. I would much rather invest in somebody — take a chance on somebody who I know is straight than someone where there is any possible question of, you know, who are they looking out for and what’s going on.
What’s the second most important thing after integrity? Passion. Entrepreneurs are, by definition, people who are leaving something else, starting a new world over here, creating and putting their lifeblood into this thing. You have to convey passion.
Favorite comment? From a David Shark, presumably a military man:
This should be mandatory viewing for military officers. PowerPoint has infiltrated every level and every service of the military, and 99% of briefers break all five of the “top five tips” for a successful presentation. 99% break ALL FIVE.
A great resource on pitching well — on presenting well, really — is Presentation Zen, a blog (and now a book too). I’ve been a devoted reader for a long time. If you haven’t ever been, go now.
