Just saying the word “pitch” gives most of us the urge to fake a migraine and call in sick.
Whether you’re battling for a big-brand brief or sweating through a startup proposal, the scenario’s all too familiar: stiff slides, recycled scripts, and glazed eyes around the table.
The energy?
About as electrifying as a Friday traffic jam on the LDP.
But what if pitching didn’t have to be painful?
What if we stopped treating it like a chore and started seeing it for what it really is—your single biggest chance to make someone feel something?
Danny Fontaine, host of the Pitch Masters podcast and author of Pitch: How to Captivate and Convince Any Audience on the Planet, believes it’s time to ditch the dread.
Malaysian marketers—who know a thing or two about creativity—are more than ready to rewrite the rules.
Here’s how to master the art of pitching, minus the bitching:
1. A Deck Is Not a Pitch. It’s Just a Tool.
If your slides say everything you do, what’s the point of you being in the room?
Pitching isn’t a PowerPoint recital.
It’s performance.
It’s persuasion.
It’s human connection.
If your audience could read your deck over kopi and kaya toast without missing a beat, it’s not a pitch—it’s a PDF.
Start treating pitches like moments, not documents.
Use visuals, stories, props—hell, use humour.
But don’t hide behind slides.
Lead with presence, not pixels.
2. Anomalies Break Through the Blah
Your client has seen a dozen pitches this month alone.
You are not their first rodeo.
So why begin like everyone else?
Break the pattern.
Say something unexpected.
Show something bold.
Create a moment that shakes them out of autopilot.
Surprise gets remembered.
Don’t do weird for weird’s sake but do something that makes them lean in and feel like something special just walked into the room.
3. Lead with Emotion, Not Excel Sheets
People don’t buy with logic.
They buy with gut.
With heart.
With that little internal voice that says this just feels right.
Yes, you’ll need stats.
But first, give them the feels.
Paint the problem.
Stoke the tension.
Deliver your idea like the hero they’ve been waiting for.
Emotion isn’t fluff.
It’s fuel.
4. Tell Real Stories, Not Corporate CVs
“We’re a full-service, integrated, award-winning, client-centric blah blah blah…”
Nope.
Tell a story.
A real one.
About a client you helped.
A time you almost blew it.
A challenge that lit a fire under your team.
Show stakes.
Show struggle.
Show triumph.
And make them the hero.
You’re not the star of the show—you’re the guide that helps them shine.
5. Failure Is Part of the Game
If your pitch feels 100% safe, it’s probably 100% forgettable.
The best pitches carry risk.
They wobble.
They surprise.
They connect because they’re alive—not memorised.
And yes, sometimes they flop.
But every flop teaches you something.
Every near-miss sharpens your instinct.
The best pitchers have scars and swagger.
Be bold.
Be vulnerable.
Be real.
Pitch Like You’re Passionate
Malaysian marketers are known for our soul, our storytelling, our spark.
Let’s bring that same magic into our pitch rooms.
Don’t pitch like a PowerPoint machine.
Pitch like a passionate human with a great idea and a glint in your eye.
Pitch like the late Yasmin Ahmad, with just one piece of A4 paper.
Tell stories.
Stir emotions.
Break patterns.
And if you bomb, learn.
Then come back and blow the roof off next time.
Because at the end of the day, a pitch is just a stage.
So own it.
And yes—then go have that Auchentoshan 18-years-old double peg.
