Pitching a service or an idea is one thing. Pitching yourself – for a role, a board position, a speaking slot, a media opportunity, a partnership – is another.

Most people find this significantly harder. The discomfort of self-advocacy is all too real, especially in a sector where the work is meant to be about others and we are meant to be humble.

This lesson gives you the framework to do it anyway.

The personal pitch is not about you

You are not asking someone to do something for you. You are presenting an opportunity for them to access your specific skills, perspective and experience in service of their goals.

The question is not “why should they give me this?” but “what will they gain by having me in this role?”

Make the pitch about YOU all about THEM. 

The structure of the personal pitch

Opening: Start with the outcome you’re there to create, not with yourself. “I want to talk to you about how I can help you reach the disability sector audience you’ve been trying to crack.”

Your relevant experience: Not your whole CV – the specific parts that matter to this opportunity. “I’ve spent 8 years working directly with NDIS providers in Western Australia. I know what keeps them up at night and I know how to communicate in a way that lands with them.”

Your perspective: What you’ll bring that nobody else will. “Most speakers in this space focus on compliance. I focus on the brand and communication gap – and that’s a conversation this audience is hungry for.”

The ask: Specific and direct. “I’d like to submit a proposal for a 45-minute session at your August conference. Is that a conversation worth having?”

Practice makes this less awful

The personal pitch gets easier every time you do it. The first few are uncomfortable. That’s the price of entry.

Exercise

Write and rehearse your personal pitch for the opportunity you identified in Module 4 (the speaking submission). Record yourself delivering it. Time it. Refine it.