Two hours before the pitch — and your mind goes blank
Two hours before the pitch, and your mind has forgotten every success of the past few years — only the failures are still there. Here you retrieve three concrete pieces of evidence in 60 seconds to carry with you into the room.
For the next few minutes
Before a pitch, failures can suddenly feel more accessible than successes. That feels like a verdict on your competence, but for now it's a snapshot — not a neurological diagnosis.
Look for three concrete pieces of evidence — not affirmations, not "I am good" statements, but factoids. Date, client, outcome. "March 2025, Volksbank pitch, won the contract." "October, investor call X, follow-up meeting." Three is enough. Your mind hasn't lost them — it just needs to retrieve them.
If you can't find them spontaneously, that's the real diagnosis — not that you weren't good, but that you don't have a filing system. Write them down after this pitch in a separate list. Next time, they'll be there.
In the pitch itself: carry the three pieces of evidence as quiet ground anchors, not as arguments. You don't need to say them out loud — you just need to know they exist. That shifts your voice down one notch and makes the first sentence feel more grounded.
Step by step
1. Sit down for 60 seconds
Start a stopwatch, phone away, no slides. Just you and a piece of paper or a notes app.
2. Three factoids, zero adjectives
Date, context, outcome. No evaluations, no "I was strong" statements. Just what-happened.
3. Hold them as ground anchors
Carry the three into the room as a quiet presence, not as arguments. You don't need to mention them.
4. File them away after the pitch
Date, situation, outcome — into a separate list. That's the start of your private evidence database.
Common questions
Why not a classic affirmation?
Because your mind in that moment actively resists affirmations — the more urgently you reassure yourself that you're good, the louder the inner accountant speaks up. Evidence works differently: it's non-negotiable, because it has already happened.
What if I can't think of three pieces of evidence?
That's useful information, not a failure. Take whatever comes to mind — even if it's just one — and write it down. After the pitch there's time for a proper list; in the moment itself, that one piece of evidence is enough, because it tips the memory reflex at least once.
Does this help with appearances when there's no preparation time?
Yes — in that case you shrink the sequence: one piece of evidence, one sentence, one breath. The mechanic is the same — tipping selective memory before you speak.