5 things Grads can teach you about winning pitches

Yesterday was ace. We held a talent search at Seven to find dazzling young creatives, digital wizards, strategists and futures bosses. 24 brilliant people competing for places on a 7-week paid programme. It was called The Magnificent7 and it really was – smart, imaginative, diverse minds tackling Apprentice-style briefs with gusto. At the end of which each team had 15 minutes to pitch.

As I'm always the one doing the pitching, it was very revealing (and strangely relaxing). Here are 5 'oh-yeah-I'd-forgotten-that' basics it reminded me that every winning pitch needs. With hearty thanks and best of luck to everyone involved.

No1 Treat consumers like real people. There is nothing like listening to 20-somethings talking about 40-something consumers to make you feel ancient. I mean, I'm on Ello; I go to festivals (alright, family ones where I sleep in a teepee and Mr Tumble is the headliner); I tweet on Wu Wednesdays. It's hard pitching about a consumer audience that is far way from your reality, but find a way to get among them through research, family, friends, hanging out in their digital spaces. So you present a 3D, nuanced, believable picture of your target audience.

No2 Tell a story. Sounds cheesy, but every pitch needs a flow, a narrative that keeps the listener listening. Sketch it out on a piece of paper or storyboard it as you would a video idea.

No3 Ditch the pitch speak. Everyone has a professional tribe, and one of the reasons mine is editorial is the way writers/editors/journalists speak. In a no-bullshit, quite rude, funny way. So get rid of the 'going forward', 'laddering up' and 'nutting out' and find more original, arresting language. The best word our rising stars used yesterday was 'crevices' – in a pitch for a bike brand.

No4 Don't be obvious. The best ideas are counterintuitive; it takes a few seconds to get your head around them. They are not predictable and ordinary. One of the benefits of not 'being of' your target audience is that it makes it easier to sock it to them with something surprising.

No5 The worse the rehearsal, the better the pitch.