A Winning Pitch is an Accessible Pitch

Dear Wonder Star of the Colorado Universe,

Welcome welcome welcome. Welcome to another opportunity to showcase your brilliance to peers, patrons, and your future paparazzi. But alas, will anyone remember what you said? I know the idea of all your hours of preparation going to waste gives you jitters, but you can avoid that fate by using the 3 big tips of accessible presenting. These 3 tips revolve around the 3 aspects of being human: what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. Let’s get started, Wonder Star!

Seeing:

When presenting your content during pitch competitions, Zoom introductions, or Google Meet reconnection, you’ll need to be aware that not everyone will be able to view your screen no matter how many times you practice with your Mom.

To avoid the embarrassment of being asked to “please zoom in a bit, no not that much, okay are you just playing around now?” proactively share your slide deck with all upcoming viewers.

I like to

1) Create the slide deck in Google Slides

2) Share the deck with “Anyone on the internet with this link can view”

3) Open bit.ly

4) Create a clever bit.ly back-half

5) Include this bit.ly link in the calendar invite, pre-meeting email, or whatever other communications practices you employ when connecting with your audience

Hearing:

When verbalizing your dreams, do you ever wonder how much of your accent, pace, or tone interrupts your audience’s ability to absorb your genius? I mean, how many times have you been asked in the Q&A section a question that you proactively answered during your talk? Frustrating! But, if we’re being honest, you always had the power to stop this issue in its tracks. Now it’s time to take that power and use it for the good of all involved!

In Google Slides: http://bit.ly/SlidesCaptions

In Microsoft Powerpoint: http://bit.ly/PowerPointCaptions

In Zoom: https://bit.ly/ZoomCaptions

In Google Hangouts: http://bit.ly/HangoutsCaptions

In Low-Tech Life: Hand-out a paper with your pitch scripts so people can read along

This is the hardest option, but it does show a certain chutzpah

Feeling:

As Maya Angelou said, ““People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

By infusing accessibility into your pitch, your audience will connect with you through what they see, build community through what they hear, and clap for what they feel. Now, doesn’t that sound like a winning combination?