How to: Pitching

​To the PR newbie, one of the most difficult aspects of public relations is pitching. An elevator pitch gives a complete rundown of who you are as a person and why someone should be interested in you. You must explain all this while being memorable in the process. Scary right?
Here are a few ways to make it a little less scary.

1. Come up with a rough script for yourself ahead of time. This will ensure you are not put on the spot unprepared. You should take time to think about what makes you stand out.
2. Find a mentor. This person could be a fellow public relations major who has more experience than you, a professor or even a boss. You can run your pitch by them to see if it best reflects you.
3. Practice, practice, practice. Practice your elevator pitch to your friends, to your family, in the car on your way to work, on your walk home from class or anywhere in between. The more you practice your pitch the more you can play around with it to make it less robotic. The more practice the more confident you will become.
4. When you are finally ready to pitch, take a moment to imagine that person doing a completely mundane task. I always image this important person on a Tuesday night, in his or her house pumping out some work in pajamas with a giant cup of coffee. This exercise makes you remember the person you are talking to is just a person like you. It will take away a fraction of your anxiety.

If you follow all of these steps, pitching to the next big client, recruiter or professor will go smoothly. You will finally be able to say, “I have 99 problems but a pitch ain’t one!” 

Written by Sydney Velez