Last year I attended the Real Screen Summit. I prepared for Real Screen by being coached on how to pitch.
The person that coached me on pitching advised me to bullet-point a 30-second "elevator pitch", a 60-second pitch for people who showed interest in the 30-second pitch, and a longer conversation for over dinner or drinks. After practicing the various pitches on her, she kept saying to me, "You've got it all, you know it!" I was thinking she must not know what she's talking about because this was just too easy.
Just for extra insurance, I took a master class on the art of the pitch. When the speaker asked if people wanted to practice their pitch, my hands got clammy. I thought there is no way that I want to talk in front of a 100 people. Then I thought if I wasn't going to do it in that supportive environment, then I wasn't going to be pitching the people I really wanted to pitch. After a couple of people went up, I thought, "Well I can do at least that well." He then had me stand there and stand there and stand there while other things were going on and I was getting unbelievably nervous. I found myself sweating, in places that I didn't know I had sweat glands.
The participants and the speaker responded very well to the pitch. So then I was like "All right!" Suddenly it was like I had a hammer and every single person that brushed passed me was a nail. I turned into a madwoman that evening and the whole next day pitching anyone within ear-shot. Just as I was beginning to feel pitched-out, a woman in an elevator asked me if I was the one to pitch that Nobel Peace Prize project. It turns out she was a European/Asian distributor. Ok, that was cool.
At one point, my energy began to flag. I sat down in the lounge to have a cup of coffee and mope. And this disheveled unhappy looking guy decided to plop down next to me. Neither one of us wanted to talk, he said he was just talked out and I said me too and then I found myself going straight into my pitch. It turns out he has a co-production company in the UK. Alright, somebody else to follow up with.
The next day they had an activity called speed pitching - kind of like speed dating. I was ready, I had practiced my moves like a boxer in training. In speed pitching, you have exactly 3 minutes to make your pitch each round. I got some yes's and some no's, and it really honed my ability to slant the pitch of the project to each listener.
Just before going to the airport, there was this guy talking with a brogue. So I asked him if he was from Ireland. I wasn't going to pitch him but instead ask about an Irish television station and see if I could pitch them. It turns out that he does some co-production and was interested in hearing about Journey to Peace. After all, he's Irish. Alright, going out with a pitch!
I no longer feel like a madwoman, but I'm always ready to pitch to anyone who will listen, and even some who don't know they want to listen. If you have $25,000 or a distribution contract, leave your phone number in the comments, and I'll pitch you!
