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Film-style poster for the Pitch Rehearsal for Mentors presentation

A guide for mentors: Pitch Rehearsal for Mentors

How to send Pitch Rehearsal, read the runs and talk them through.

English

What this guide covers

What this guide covers

What this guide covers

What it is

Plan the slides, then beat the clock

Your mentee times each slide, rehearses out loud and keeps every run to compare.

When to send it

Send it well before the pitch

Two or more runs need a few days, not the night before.

  • Before a demo day leave time for a second run
  • Before an investor meeting rehearse the real version
  • After a rough pitch find the slide that ran long

An honest frame

Practice, not a verdict

The times are measured; the ratings are only how the founder saw the run.

  • Self-rated 1 is weak, 5 is strong
  • Timed per slide every run is kept
  • No funding score it does not predict investors

Sending it

Send it from your pairing

It takes a minute, and your mentee gets an email.

Open your pairing

Choose Assign a tool and find Pitch Rehearsal.

Try it as your mentee

Run the timer on a pitch of your own; nothing is saved.

Add a short message

Ask for at least two timed runs before you meet.

Open your pairing

Choose Assign a tool and find Pitch Rehearsal.

Try it as your mentee

Run the timer on a pitch of your own; nothing is saved.

Add a short message

Ask for at least two timed runs before you meet.

Reading the answers

Read the times, then the team

Early investors respond most to the team (Bernstein and others, 2017), so check that score.

  • Slides that ran long marked when well past the plan
  • Weakest point their lowest self-rating
  • The hardest question and the answer they wrote

Questions to ask

Ask, then ask once more

People who ask follow-up questions are liked more (Huang and others, 2017).

  • What should someone remember after one minute? then: is it on a slide?
  • Which slide could go? then: what would you lose?
  • What question do you fear most? then: answer it now, out loud

Feedback that helps

Name one fix, then run again

A long list of notes can backfire, so pick one change per run.

1 in 3 Over a third of feedback effects lowered performance in one large review Kluger and DeNisi, 1996

One step

One change, one more run

Founders trained to pitch gave investors more information (Clingingsmith and Shane, 2018).

  • Fix one slide the one that ran long
  • Run it again out loud, with the timer
  • Compare the runs side by side in the table

After the meeting

Keep it all on Mentornity

The runs, your comments and the next steps stay in one place.

Read it at a glance

Rehearsals, the last run and the weakest point are summed up.

Add next steps

Write which slide changes, by whom and by when.

Ask to fill it again

Earlier answers are kept, so you can compare the runs.

Read it at a glance

Rehearsals, the last run and the weakest point are summed up.

Add next steps

Write which slide changes, by whom and by when.

Ask to fill it again

Earlier answers are kept, so you can compare the runs.

Hear the pitch before investors do

Send it two weeks before a pitch and ask for at least two runs.

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