Most of us find ourselves having to pitch an idea – whether it’s a proposal for a new business initiative to a boss, a VC pitch, or a proposal of marriage – when the stakes are high and we care a great deal about succeeding.  How to increase the chances of success? 

1.  First, think about your audience.  Start any serious endeavor that involves a pitch by thinking hard not about how you feel but how your audience feels.  If you don’t succeed in getting in the minds of your audience you won’t succeed in changing those minds.  What are their top concerns?  What are they afraid of?  What do they want?

2.  Second, think about the best medium for your pitch.   What’s the best way to get your message across to this particular audience?  Is it a casual conversation?  A formal document?  A presentation?  A presentation with Power Point slides?  A blog, a book, a series of articles or white papers?  A PR campaign?  A romantic dinner with roses, champagne, and a ring?  Every audience and every pitch has an optimal medium, and too many people make the mistake of assuming that, say, a Power Point slide deck is automatically the best medium for all messages.  Not so. 

3.  Third, think about how your pitch solves a problem that the audience has.  Few people are interested in hearing new ideas just for the sake of those ideas.  We have enough information engulfing us, thanks.  But we are always ready to hear how someone or something might solve a problem that we have.  So tie your pitch to a problem or need that the audience has and you’ll get a much friendlier hearing. 

4.  Fourth, think about what you want your audience to do differently as a result of hearing your pitch.   A classic mistake that people make when pitching an idea is to forget to close the sale or actually ask for the thing that they want.  People rarely say ‘yes’ to questions that haven’t been asked.  Don’t forget to make your pitch.

5.  Finally, think about how you’re going to make your pitch.   You’re now ready to write the article, the book, the speech, have that conversation, or ask for that hand in marriage.  If you’ve thought hard about steps 1 -4, your chances of success have already multiplied.  Good luck!