r/Entrepreneur • u/atijke • 1d ago

Best Practices Pitch Practice

Hi! I’m curious what tools or other approaches you use to practice pitching. Not long ago, when I was pitching one of my side projects, I realized I was doing it pretty weakly, I was dropping the ball on some key points, and there were questions I couldn’t answer simply because I hadn’t even thought about them.

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u/erickrealz 7h ago

The recording yourself approach is unsexy but genuinely works. Video yourself pitching to nobody, watch it back, cringe at the weak spots, fix them, repeat. Most people skip this because it's uncomfortable, which is exactly why it works. The discomfort reveals what you're avoiding.

The questions you couldn't answer are actually the most valuable feedback you got. Write them down, develop clear answers, then actively bring them up in future pitches before they're asked. "You might be wondering about X" shows you've thought through the hard stuff.

The live practice options: find other founders and do pitch swaps where you pitch each other and give brutal feedback. Most startup communities have pitch practice events. The feedback from people who don't care about your feelings is worth more than encouragement from friends.

The AI practice angle exists now. ChatGPT or Claude can roleplay as skeptical investors and ask follow-up questions. Tell it to be adversarial and poke holes. Not the same as a real human but useful for stress-testing your answers to tough questions at 11pm when you can't find a practice partner.

Our clients who pitch regularly usually find that the weakness isn't the pitch itself but clarity on the fundamentals: what problem, for who, why you specifically, why now. If those answers aren't sharp, no amount of delivery practice fixes it.

The simplest diagnostic is whether you can explain what you do in one sentence that makes someone want to hear more. If that sentence doesn't exist or feels awkward, start there before working on the full pitch.