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You’ve got to see Jonathan Chuby’s pitch for his project “Duck Race”. All of the pitches were amazing, but the jury really responded to this project’s fun and market friendly nature. Watch it here. It was fun working with this talented group of pitchers.

https://mailchi.mp/1a94601b9792/pitch-your-project-to-cbc

The Optimal Pitch is conducting a “How to Deliver the Optimal Pitch” workshop in September in conjunction with CION (Cultural Industries Ontario North). Details on how to apply in the link above. Upon completion of the workshop, participants will get an opportunity to pitch their projects to the CBC! Oh yeah, it’s free.

Looking forward to moderating another panel discussion for the Youth Media Alliance! Register at: YMA.

Special thanks to the Youth Media Alliance for recently hosting my webinar”THE OPTIMAL PITCH: How to Build a Killer Elevator Pitch”. Sixty five attendees and lots of questions!

Thanks to Laura Mingail for inviting me to be a part of this panel. I’m always excited to talk about pitching! Great tips from our moderator Joy Yang and co-panelists Andra “The Legend” Sheffer and Valerie Fox.

I’m excited to be working with The Directors Guild of Canada to conduct a special “How to Deliver the Optimal Pitch” workshop next Monday (January 20, 2020) in Toronto.

Over 70 confirmed attendees. It’s going to be a packed house!

Great reception for “How to Deliver the Optimal Pitch” (September 26, 2019) hosted by WIFT-Toronto at Goodman’s office on Bay Street in Toronto.

“How to Deliver the Optimal Pitch” is coming to Halifax! In conjunction with Screen Nova Scotia, I will be conducting a full day workshop for emerging producers on creating and delivering the Optimal Pitch.

WOMEN IN FILM & TELEVISION TORONTO – Industry Speaker Series

September 26, 2019 @ 6:45 PM

Goodmans LLP – 333 Bay Street, Suite 3400

FREE for WIFT-T members, non-members $20 (plus HST).

Hope to see you there!

You’re at a cocktail party at the Banff World Media Festival. You scan the room for a friendly face. Suddenly, a colleague taps you on the shoulder and introduces you to a Decision Maker. In fact, for your project, this person is The Decision Maker. You shake hands. The Decision Maker asks: “What are you working on?”

Gulp.

A choice pitching opportunity can sometimes appear out of the blue.

Always be prepared.

You’ll be better at seizing opportunities if you have a polished pitch. At a minimum, thoroughly prepare your elevator pitch so you can describe your project concisely and persuasively. With a solid elevator pitch in your repertoire, you’ll feel more confident introducing your project to an important Decision Maker.

Of course, you could say: “I’ve got something really great, but I’m not ready to talk about it.”

Opportunity presented and opportunity lost.

As I wrote in a previous post (“Soft Pitching is High Risk” 11 April 2019), it’s risky to prematurely discuss your project with a Decision Maker. But it might be worth the risk if your elevator pitch is engaging and accurately summarizes your project.

Best case, you secure a meeting with the Decision Maker to discuss the project in greater depth. And even if that doesn’t happen, at least you’ve gathered precious intelligence and feedback.

No matter what, hopefully you’ve impressed the Decision Maker with your creativity and professionalism. But you won’t reap the reward if you don’t prepare for the opportunity.

Don’t be afraid to seek opportunities and always be “pitch-ready”.

See you at Banff 40 in June!

Kevin Wright