Nail Your Next Pitch: 11 Preparation Tips to Emphasize the Right Words and Deliver with Impact

Whether you're delivering a presentation, giving a speech, or pitching to investors, how you say something is just as important as what you say. Emphasizing the right words at the right time helps guide your audience through your message and ensures your key points resonate.

Here are 11 essential tips to help you naturally emphasize the right words and master vocal variety in your communication:

1. Record and Review Your Delivery

Whether you’re walking through key points of your presentation or practicing your entire pitch, recording yourself can offer invaluable insights. Focus on how you emphasize words and use tone. Reviewing the video provides an outside perspective and allows you to catch any areas where your delivery might feel forced or awkward. Look not just for your words but how your tone and expressions match the message you're trying to convey.

2. Align Your Facial Expressions with Tone

Your face plays a crucial role in reinforcing your message. If you’re delivering a positive point, smile; if you’re delivering a more serious message, let your facial expression reflect that. Your audience often looks at your face for cues on how to interpret your tone—if they don’t match, it’s like steering a ship against the wind. Proper alignment between your tone and facial expressions makes your message feel more authentic and trustworthy.

3. Avoid the "Upward Inflection" Trap

One common mistake speakers make, especially when nervous, is ending statements with an upward inflection, turning them into unintended questions. For example, imagine you're an entrepreneur saying, "I’m raising $500,000?" versus "I’m raising $500,000." The first sounds uncertain, while the second exudes confidence. Avoid upward inflection at the end of your statements to ensure you come across as decisive and authoritative.

4. Listen to Your Inner Voice

Before you say your words out loud, read them to yourself. As you read silently, listen for how you naturally emphasize certain words or phrases. Your inner monologue often knows where the natural fluctuations of tone occur. By becoming aware of where your voice naturally rises and falls, you can replicate that vocal emphasis when you speak out loud, ensuring a more authentic delivery.

5. Talk Through Your Key Points with a Colleague

Sometimes a casual conversation over coffee can be a great practice session. Talk through your main points with a colleague and observe how naturally your emphasis flows. If they seem disengaged, it may be a sign you need to vary your tone more or emphasize certain points differently. This relaxed setting helps you see if your tone aligns with your message in a natural way.

6. Have Someone Else Read Your Presentation

Hearing someone else read your presentation aloud can reveal fresh insights. Pay attention to where they naturally place emphasis and how that affects the delivery. You may pick up new ways to emphasize key ideas or nuances that could make your message more engaging and impactful.

7. Practice with a Live Group

There’s nothing like real-time feedback to help refine your tone and emphasis. Practice in front of a group—whether it's colleagues or a formal setting like Toastmasters—and ask for specific feedback. Let your audience know what to listen for, such as feedback on your tone, energy, or whether your delivery sounds natural. When your listeners know what to focus on, they can provide you with more actionable insights that help refine your speaking style.

8. Vary Your Speed

Speeding up or slowing down your speech can dramatically change how your message is received. Speeding up can convey excitement, urgency, or enthusiasm, while slowing down emphasizes importance and allows your audience to absorb critical points. Adjusting your pace makes your delivery more dynamic and ensures that the key parts of your message are understood. Varying your speed also keeps your voice from sounding monotone, which can disengage your audience.

9. Adjust Your Volume

Using volume effectively helps to keep your audience engaged. Lowering your voice can create intimacy or draw people in for emphasis, while raising your volume adds strength and urgency to your message. Be mindful of how these shifts reflect your natural voice and ensure they are authentic to the message you're delivering. When done right, adjusting your volume can create a deeper connection with your audience.

10. Use Pauses for Emphasis

Silence is a powerful tool in speaking. A well-timed pause before or after an important point creates anticipation and gives your audience time to absorb what you just said. Pausing helps your words carry more weight and helps your audience feel the significance of what’s being said. This technique is particularly useful for emphasizing key points in pitches or presentations where every word matters. If you want a deeper dive on the power of the pause, you can check out one of my TEDx talks here .?

11. Seek Feedback and Iterate

Finally, the only way to improve is through repetition and feedback. After each presentation or pitch, seek feedback from trusted colleagues or your audience. Ask them if your tone, speed, and volume were effective and whether your message came across clearly. Make adjustments based on this feedback and practice again. Just like navigating a ship through unpredictable waters, adjusting based on conditions ensures you stay on the right course.

The Role of Tone in Leadership Communication

For executives and entrepreneurs, tone and vocal variety aren’t just for speeches—they’re vital tools for everyday leadership. Whether it’s a meeting, a pitch, or a casual conversation, your tone sets the emotional climate of the discussion.

For instance, when delivering bad news, a calm and measured tone can soften the impact. When rallying your team, an upbeat and passionate tone can inspire action. The key is ensuring your tone matches your message. If your delivery is off, it’s like sailing into the wind—no matter how hard you try, you’ll struggle to move forward.

Aligning Tone and Message

At its core, natural emphasis and tone ensure that you’re communicating authentically. Executives and entrepreneurs thrive on making genuine connections, and your audience can sense when your delivery is in sync with your message. Mastering these nuances takes time, but once you do, you’ll sail smoothly toward more effective and impactful communication.

Next Steps: Practice, Practice, Practice

The next time you prepare to communicate—whether it’s a big pitch, a presentation, or sharing your latest insights—think about how you’ll deliver your message. Watch your recordings, talk it out with friends, and listen to how others deliver similar points. Most importantly, make sure your tone, emphasis, and facial expressions are all pulling in the same direction. When everything aligns, you’ll find that your words carry more weight, and your audience will be more likely to follow you on your journey.

Sometimes, though, finding the right tone can be tricky. That’s where a coach can make all the difference. I offer custom speaking workouts and routines designed to help you practice and refine your delivery for those crucial presentations and pitches. If you’d like to see how I can help, book time on my calendar , and let’s hop on an intro call. Together, we’ll make sure your message not only lands but resonates.