Avoid this pitch mistake

- Hi, I'm Jodi. I studied social policy and education at Northwestern University. I graduated in 1995. I went into the Peace Corps for two years in Latin America in a little tiny town called Kurarewe. I came home, I worked in government. I decided I didn't like government. I went to business school. I became an investment banker, decided I didn't like investment banking. What am I going to do with my life? Are you wondering yet why I'm telling you all of this? Does anything I've done in my background have to do with what I actually do today? Not really. And how many times have you met someone and they start talking to you and they go on and on and on about where they're from and what they've done? And you think to yourself, why are we having this conversation? The better way to start your pitch always is to lead with your destination. Start by looking forward. Tell me who you are and what you're excited about. Tell me who you are and what you do right now that drives you, that engages you, that might be interesting to me today. The biggest mistake we make with the pitch almost always is that we start by looking backwards. And with all due respect, no one really cares that much about what you've done and where you went to school and where you grew up. What we do care about is who you are now and what you're doing going forward that excites you, that engages you, that's going to get people interested in having a conversation with you. The benefit of looking forward and leading with your destination is that you're going to draw someone in who wants to have a conversation with you. When I introduce myself today, I talk about the fact that what I do now is develop next generation talent, that I am passionate about helping people be the best they can be in every area of their job and their career. And when I tell you that, people will often say, wow, so interesting, or how do you do it? Or tell me more, as opposed to me starting way back when about where I got my degree and what I studied and what I did before I started my business, which has very little relevancy to what I actually do today and what I care about, what I'm passionate about and what I want to spend my time talking to you about.