Saturday, April 30, 2005

I just had a delightful interview with Chris Abbott (of Magnum PI, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, etc. fame. As soon as I get it into shape, I'll be serializing it here.

Chris is promoting her new book Ten Minutes to the Pitch. Her book is a very useful checklist for making sure, when you go in to pitch, that you're telling the right story to the right people in the right way. As she points out, there is no good pitch that doesn't get you a job!

The checklist is simple. To paraphrase a bit:

1. Get there early.
2. Be sure you're in the right place.
3. Bring a pencil, notebook and your notes with you.
4. Go to the bathroom first.
5. Be nice to the assistants.
6. Don't forget to breathe.
7. Know the people in the room.
8. Turn off your electronics.
9. Don't start pitching till you're in the room.
10. Tell the story you came to tell.
11. Be ready for the unexpected.
12. Be memorable.
13. Don't leave before you're finished.
14. Leave gracefully.
15. Have somewhere to go after the meeting.[I recommend My Father's Office in Santa Monica.]

For the explanations -- and lots of useful advice on how to get your idea from your head into their heads as smoothly and excitingly as possible -- you're gonna have to read the book. 'Cause the interview isn't about any of that stuff!

Lee Goldberg also has an interesting Q & A with Chris on his blog.

7:30 PM

1 Comments:

Can't wait to read this, Alex!

By  Anonymous, at 2:48 PM  

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