Don't make us think your pitch should have been an email — avoid these 4 online pitching mistakes.

Pitching online isn't easier. It's harder. Like, WAY harder.

Between the competitions & accelerators, the weekly founder forum I organize, and my own businesses, I've heard a lot of startup pitches. I stopped counting at one thousand. When the pandemic forced it all to Zoom, I honestly thought pitching would get a little easier for those who don't like public speaking. But I couldn't have been more wrong.

Here are four mistakes I see all too often that you would be wise to avoid.

Mistake 1: Not practicing your tech.

Technology can — it will — go wrong. Hop on to the precise technology you'll be using when you pitch and do a few dry runs. A few. Plural. Make the tech muscle memory.

Bonus tip: when something goes wrong (and it will), stay calm and confident. Roll with it.

Mistake 2: Becoming complacent.

It can feel like a virtual pitch isn't a real pitch, because you're just sitting in front of your computer with a button-down above sweat pants, but it's just as real as it is in person. There's a real audience who wants to hear what you have to say.

You have to try even harder to land it online than you would in person.

Mistake 3: Reading from a script (or reading your slides).

So many founders figure that we're all online and the audience can't see their screen, so they'll never know! Except... we can tell. And it's super annoying. Seriously.

Don't make us think your pitch should have been an email.

Mistake 4: Boring the audience.

Keep the audience engaged! We're sitting in front of a computer, where we've been all day. Our email is right there. So it our to do list. And Instagram. If you're not compelling and telling a good story, we will tune you out. Distractions are harder to resist online.

And when we tune you out, you'll never know. We're still looking right at the screen.