7 terrible things to say when pitching an idea
You can’t guarantee confetti flying and champagne corks popping every time you toss out a creative gem, but you can keep from shooting yourself in the foot—while it’s in your mouth.
In an industry that revolves around the art of the pitch, some of us are quite bad at it. We say inappropriate things. We stick our feet in our mouths. We back ourselves into corners. We put other people in the room on the defensive.
Whether you’re trying to sell a client on an innovative marketing concept or introducing a new idea to your internal team, the words you use are crucial. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time can shut down a roomful of open minds in an instant.
If you’re trying to sell your great idea, don’t let these phrases come out of your mouth.
“The way we’ve been doing this is ridiculous.”
The above statement very well might be true; it probably is. Especially if you’re pitching an internal process change, there’s a good chance that your idea sprang from existing inefficiencies or ridiculous practices. It can be very tempting to open your pitch by pointing this out, but before you do, stop and think a moment.
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