Pitch me like I'm your best friend

by Nic Brisbourne

Yesterday Brad Feld quoted Jeffrey Kalmikoff of Threadless saying the following on Techstars: 

give me your pitch, but give it to me as if you are giving it to your best friend

 

and I liked it so much I had to repeat it here.

I like it both because that's how I like to be pitched by entrepreneurs and because it is sound advice for people who are pitching.  To break it down a little, if you pitching your best friend you would:

1. Give it her straight
2. Keep it interesting
3. Deliver it like a conversation rather than like a firehose
4. Try to inject some humour
5. Do as much listening as talking
6. Focus on the areas that your friend wants to hear about
7. Adjust the length of the pitch to the level of interest