This content was created by Paula Rizzo. This content was uploaded by Paula Rizzo. This is a YouTube video titled "How to pitch media with Paula Rizzo" (created 2021-06-19) featuring Paula Rizzo speaking directly to "Angela" in a solo, instructional message. Rizzo gives practical media-pitching advice: focus on the audience, craft a timely hook (why now), include a counterintuitive twist, and end with a clear takeaway (what listeners can do tomorrow). She offers example pitch framings (e.g., daily tips to engage employees), encouragement that being asked to send a pitch is already a win, and an offer of further help.
Chapters
Hey Angela, Paula Rizzo here, and I thought that video would be easier than typing this all out. And hopefully this will be helpful to other people, but I'm psyched that you are getting a media opportunity. At least conversation is the most important piece here. Remember, it's not only about getting booked. Of course, that's really good when you get booked, but at least now you've started a dialogue with the producer or the booker, whoever it is. So my best tips are to, you know, send something that the audience would care about. It's all about the audience. It's not about your book, right? So, um, thinking through, can you be of service with what it is that you know? And I know that you can, right? You have a book that has a lot of interesting stuff in there where you can tell leaders and managers how to keep their workforce engaged and how to keep them from leaving basically. Right? So think through what are the tips that you have there? What is something that's counterintuitive? Right, so for me, it's 3 pieces that you need to be thinking of whenever you pitch. It's the hook, right? Why now? What is it that makes this relevant? So, you know, maybe you can pull up a stat or something that says X amount of people are leaving, you know, jobs at record paces or whatever it is. That's the hook of why this is important now. The twist is the second piece that's really, really important when it comes to pitching. So the twist is the counterintuitive piece. What is it that you're gonna tell me that I have not heard before? So that the audience will say, huh, oh wow, I didn't know that if you gave donuts to employees on a Friday, that means that they'll stay employed here longer, whatever it is, right? So something that you're turning on its head, maybe it's something that people might not have thought of, or it's like, you know, underground secret, something that's really juicy in there, and it's not just like, oh, have a company picnic. It has to be really different, right? Something that they've not heard before. So it's the hook, the twist, and then the takeaway. What do they now do? What do they do tomorrow? How do they treat their staff differently starting tomorrow? And so maybe a pitch could be morning to night, right? From Monday to Friday, what's one thing that you can do each day to engage your employees? Or one day from beginning to evening, from the morning, right? Maybe you do this in the meeting and maybe in the afternoon you do this, and then at night you do this, whatever it is. So thinking through some of your tips, I think if you look at some of the tips or some of the things that you're often talking about, some of the advice that you often give and some of the things that get people to ask questions and say, "Oh, I never thought of that," that's the interesting stuff that the media will be interested in. So I'm thrilled that you're getting this opportunity and I hope that they pick you. But remember, just being asked to send your book and to send a pitch, that is a win. So I'm excited for you. And please let me know if I can help you or anybody else in any way. Thanks, bye.
