Ask Phil: Need Pitching Help
This week, Phil Stark, screenwriter turned therapist, answers a question about being good in the room and delivering a good pitch.
Many of the problems we face as screenwriters are related to the reality of the craft: third act structure, navigating notes, character development, the pitch process, etc. At the same time, there are personal and emotional issues that influence the practical work: imposter syndrome, the inner critic, shame and anger, professional jealousy, etc. I have the screenwriting experience to address questions about the practical aspects of the work, and the therapy experience to explore the personal and emotional considerations that inform the work of screenwriting.
My email address will be at the end of every column, so please send in your questions and comments about life at the intersection of screenwriting and mental health. It’s a busy intersection!
Dear Phil,
I love writing but I hate pitching. The best part of screenwriting to me is sitting down by myself and creating a world, little by little, on my own. The worst part is trying to explain this world to other people in words instead of by reading a script. I wish I could just let the script speak for itself but I know pitching and being good in the room is a part of being a successful screenwriter. Any advice for a bad pitcher?
Signed, Need Pitching Help
Dear Need Pitching Help,
I hear you, Bad Pitcher. Your situation is more common than you might think. Many people become writers because they enjoy the solitary aspect of the work, the control, the ability to do it all themselves. However, a screenplay is a different kind of monster than a novel or a short story, in that what you write is not meant to be the end product. Instead, our scripts are just the beginning of a process that (hopefully) progresses to the point where many other people are involved, and which always involves other peoples’ opinions. How do we succeed in this process if we’re not good in the room?
The first step is to stop telling yourself you’re not good in the room. Go ahead and describe yourself as shy, or bookish, or socially awkward, but stop labeling yourself as not good in the room, because even with all those previous adjectives you still can be. So think of yourself as a clean slate from which we can build a screenwriter who is good in the room.
What does it mean to be good in the room? It’s not just about how you pitch. It’s about your attitude, your affect, and how you make the people in the room feel. Our instinct is often to come into that room and put on a show, to wow people. However, I don’t like to think like this, it puts too much pressure on us to perform and this can quickly take on an air of desperation, which is the death knell for any pitch.
I like to approach a meeting like this as, at first, a chance for me to get other people talking. Ask them about their current projects, what they’re excited about, what they think about whatever movie just opened, or whichever show just got renewed. At this point, the meeting’s not about you. Of course, this will change when someone leans forward in their seat on the couch and says they’re so excited to hear what you have for them today. And then, off we go!
A good pitch is like a good joke. It’s simple and direct. The difference between a good pitch and a good joke though, is that the joke is meant to be delivered and consumed. The pitch is more of a tease. You want to take the least amount of time and effort to describe the most awesome things about your pitch, and then sit back and see what happens. It’s like you’re chumming the water, and with each piece of meat you toss in you prepare for the bites you’re going to get. The last thing you want to do is start in the first scene and describe everything that happens and then get to the end and say so, what do you think? You’d rather get your audience engaged and participating.
My favorite pitches usually start with an opening scene that is big, fun, and sets up the movie. An opening that your audience, after you pitch it, will know what the movie is. So after that detailed opening, you might be able to efficiently describe the rest of the main story, the sub-plot lines, relationship developments, and set pieces. BUT - you don’t have to give it to them all at once!
After you pitch the opening, and the main story, find a way to get to a stopping point. Set up your audience to be able to ask questions like where’s the romantic interest? What is X or Y character doing the rest of the time? What kind of themes will this script explore? How does it end? Because the great thing about setting up your audience to ask these questions is YOU HAVE ALREADY FIGURED ALL THIS OUT. The difference between pitching this upfront versus answering your audience's questions is that in the second version, you’re engaging your audience. They’re part of the pitch. The more involved they feel, the better they will feel about your pitch.
Practice this with friends. Take whatever pitch you’re working on and whittle it down to one sentence. Then do it with with two. Then three. Then a paragraph. Develop several versions of your pitch, from skeletal to fleshed out. And don’t give your friends much, either; give them just enough to be curious and ask questions.
Hopefully, with practice, you’ll become a better pitcher. Notice I didn’t say great pitcher: you don’t have to be a great pitcher to succeed as a screenwriter, but I think you do need to be able to pitch, period. It just takes practice!
Therapist and screenwriter Phil Stark answers reader questions about topics at the intersection of screenwriting and mental health. Got a question for Phil? Email him at starktalktherapy@gmail.com
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Phil Stark is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Los Angeles. He is also an author and screenwriter, with credits such as Dude, Where’s My Car?, That ‘70s Show, and South Park, along with a book about talk therapy, Dude, Where’s My Car-tharsis?. Learn more about Phil at starktalk.net.
