Building the Blank Canvas: manage your nerves

“Body” tends to be the one language most startup founders never think of learning. For us this is crazy! Posture, eyes, and hand gestures speak louder than words, especially when pitching. As a pitch coach I'm on the mission of making founders and co-founders ultra-ready for Demo-Day so they come across as confident and passionate as they can be!

The starting point is achieving a neutral body and assessing individual strengths and weaknesses to tackle in the next sessions. 

This is what we called the “Blank Canvas” technique which helps entrepreneurs manage their nerves while pitching in front of large audiences, or to a few investors behind closed doors. The Blank Canvas gives them a comfortable place to go back to in case of panic, and it’s particularly helpful when answering difficult questions from the audience. 

How to Blank Canvas

Each person is different which means you have to find neutral for yourself. Think of the body as ‘empty’ space that contains you. Start by aligning the body from the ground up:

• Feet parallel to each other and hips’s width apart. 
• Pelvis perpendicular to the floor (not tilted forwards not backwards).
• Ribs are closer together as if being loosely held by a clothing peg. 
• Core muscles are slightly engaged. 
• Chest is open and shoulders are slightly back. 
• Chin is tilted down ever so slightly. 

You should now look and feel 2 inches taller! 

Blank Canvas is an essential part of the process to create clarity. Hand gestures and eye contact are the next steps in the Blank Canvas method but for that sign up to this newsletter and stay in the loop.

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Emma