The Art of Pitching Yourself: Develop Your Personal Pitch

The art of pitching yourself is one of the oldest crafts in the world and can make a monumental difference in the type of opportunities a person gets, the amount of money she/he makes and eventually what your legacy as a person is. Throughout my career, I have seen talented and hardworking professionals get ignored and not maximize their potential because of two key things: lack of confidence and the lack of knowledge on how to pitch themselves.

 Today, I am going to break down for my readers what it actually means to pitch yourself and how to create your unique professional pitch. (Before I do that, if you find this article valuable, please leave me a comment or an emoji, it lets me know that you want to continue seeing this type of content on the newsletter and encourages me to continue creating!)

 What is pitching?

You may have heard the phrases “she knows how to pitch herself, or he really knows how to sell himself.” What people mean by this can vary and it can be said with both a negative or a positive connotation. However, the underlying meaning of this is that this person is able to advocate for themselves and highlight what they can bring on board as a person effectively.

 Pitching means the ability to highlight and present positive aspects of yourself and the relevant skills or experience you have to another person or group of people for a specific opportunity.

It requires two elements, the person who is pitching and the person (people) who are receiving the pitch. Knowing how to pitch yourself is a skill that is useful for the very first-time job applicant to a seasoned professional.

I have an excellent post on the details of what a pitch is and how to craft it. You can read it here:

 How to begin developing your personal pitch?

 Creating your own pitch requires two things: first knowing how to identify what about yourself is unique and what skills/knowledge you have that are considered valuable. Second it requires you to be aware of the needs/interests of the person/people you are pitching yourself to.

 The other thing to be clear is on what you are pitching yourself for: are you pitching yourself for a job or to be featured on the cover of a magazine – depending on the circumstances you can customize the pitch.  So it can be over an email, a PowerPoint or even a video. For example, if you want to pitch yourself as a public speaker, you can pitch yourself through a video, this will clearly demonstrate your speaking skills and onscreen/onstage presence.

 To begin developing your pitch ask yourself these questions:

What qualities do I have professionally/personally that I get complimented on?

What qualities about myself are unique, different or that many don't know about?

What does my experience/skill help people do or what value does it add?

Now summarize all of this in a paragraph, I suggest no more than 4-5 sentences.

The next part would be identifying the interests of the person/people you are pitching to. What you should keep in mind is how your experience or knowledge can support them, what are the challenges they face that your skills, idea or even presence can help solve. It could even be how your presence (personality) will bring a different perspective, for example if you are applying for a job opportunity or to be on a panel discussion.

Remember the purpose of the pitch is to initiate dialogue, start a conversation, we are not trying to convince the person right away ( in some cases your pitch will get you the opportunity asap), however in most cases it will require a back and forth so I suggest your pitch doesn't reveal everything, save some details for the rest of the conversations that are to follow.

 Top tip: Save this pitch in a document and begin developing your pitch before you begin applying for opportunities. So when you spot an opportunity, all you have to do is press send and tweak the details if required.

  Level up for 2024

If you are ready to increase your on/offline visibility and become a more confident person in 2024, you can DM me on LinkedIn to learn more about the coaching sessions I offer. I have developed two signature courses: Becoming a Confident Communicator and Pitching 101, to help professionals identify their pitches and transform their communication skills. Alternatively, you can email me at mariaesperenza@yahoo.com to learn more about the services I offer.