Learning English

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• Deadlines and logistics
• Client management

Introduction

Do you ever have to pitch ideas at work? Is it stressful? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about sharing your ideas.

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is a transcript of a spoken conversation and is not a word-for-word script.

Phil
Have you ever had to pitch an idea at work? Was it stressful?

Beth
I think the key to pitching is almost practising. So talking to people outside of work and seeing if they can understand you.

Neil
It is stressful because I think until you see the reaction of the person who you're pitching your idea to, even if you think it's brilliant, you have a big, big doubt.

Pippa
Today on Office English, we're talking about how to share your ideas at work.

Phil
Hello and welcome to Office English from BBC Learning English, our podcast about the language of work. I'm Phil.

Pippa
And I'm Pippa. You can find a transcript of this episode to read along on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

Phil
We've just heard from our BBC Learning English colleagues how they feel about pitching ideas at work. Have you had to pitch ideas, Pippa? How did you find it?

Pippa
I have had to pitch ideas. I haven't really ever had to do a really formal business pitch that you see sometimes on the television, but I have had to pitch ideas and I find it a bit stressful. I think if it's an informal setting, then I find it OK, but if there's pressure to come up with ideas and if I'm asked to think of an idea in advance, I find it more stressful than just kind of having a conversation. How about you?

Phil
Usually when I've pitched things, it's been as part of a sort of structured process. So it's kind of you go through all the steps, but in itself it's not that stressful because you're not face to face with someone. So sometimes it's easier doing it in an email.

Pippa
OK. Well today we're going to talk about some tips for pitching and getting your ideas heard.

Phil
So, let's imagine you're in a meeting at work where your boss has asked your team to suggest ideas. How do you start your pitch?

Pippa
So you want to grab people's attention from the start, so you want to summarise your idea in as short a time as possible. So you might have heard of the idea of an elevator pitch, and this just means explaining your idea in a short amount of time. So imagine getting in the lift or the elevator and going up, and you explain your idea in that kind of short period that you're talking to someone in the lift.

Phil
Yeah. So you might do that as a question and answer. So for example, 'have you ever noticed...?' something. 'Well, I've found the solution'.

Pippa
Yes. Another way you can do it is to kind of state a clear ambition. So you can say, 'I want to make...' and then state what you want to do. So you're very clear about what you're trying to do.

Phil
And then maybe if you're in a more informal context, you're kind of saying, 'I've been thinking a lot about...' and then the key issue, 'and my idea is to...' and then you explain your idea.

Pippa
So we've covered how to open a pitch. But how can you end things, Phil?

Phil
Yeah, that's a really good question because you don't just want it to trail off. You want to have a clear end to it. So maybe think about the effect that this idea might have. Think about how it could serve your customers.

Pippa
So you might say something like, 'I think this will be an amazing new way to serve our customers'.

Phil
Or you could talk about trends in your industry or in society in general. And, you know, 'this is an idea that could capture that trend' and could give people what they're looking for.

Pippa
You could also introduce some urgency to your idea, so you could say, 'if we act fast, I think we could see real success'. So you're showing that your idea is exciting.

Phil
Another way to end a pitch could be to invite questions. So you might want to gauge someone's opinion. Ask them, 'what do you think? Does it sound like something you'd be interested in?' Or just say, you know, 'I'd welcome any questions you might have about this idea.'

Pippa
Yeah, that's a slightly more formal way of putting it.

Phil
Pitching can be very stressful, particularly if you don't do it often as part of your job. Let's hear from our BBC colleagues again.

Neil
Make sure that what you're suggesting satisfies a need. You have to be careful not to say that the original idea is really bad, because it might be the work of the person you're pitching to.

Beth
I would say stick to the brief, be enthusiastic and just be organised.

Pippa
So Beth and Neil talked about sticking to a brief. So often when you're asked to pitch at work, you'll be given a brief, which is a list of guidelines for the idea, a list of requests for a certain idea.

Phil
Yeah. So it's really important when you're making your pitch that you show how you're meeting the brief. You say things like 'this will satisfy our need for...' or 'research shows our customers want more...' and then you give examples.

Pippa
Yes. Another thing you can do is say, 'I've been thinking about what we're missing in our current offer, and I think this fills that gap'. So you can kind of talk about the stuff that exists already and show how your idea is new, but you don't want to put down other work or ideas. You want to be polite because you might be talking to the person whose idea it was.

Phil
Yeah, you might say things like, 'we've come a long way, but I think working in this way can only get us so far'.

Pippa
Yes. Another way you could phrase it is saying something like, 'I want to build on our previous successes with something a bit different'.

Phil
That's it for this episode of Office English and for the series. We'll be back soon with more programmes to help you improve your business English. In the meantime, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email to [email protected] and tell us about what confuses you about English in the office.

Pippa
You'll find more resources to help you with your English at work on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now.

Phil
Bye.

 

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