Callum’s Top Language Tips to Perfect Your Pitch

Language is the bedrock of all communication, and its importance in Digital PR shouldn’t go unmissed. Why? Because we are our client’s voices and our audience’s storytellers.

The spoken and written word is integral to our jobs, from writing content for clients, pitching to journalists and sharing ideas with colleagues. 

 Here are my top six language tips for pitching to journalists:

1. Avoid Complicated Vocab

Try to stick to vocabulary you’re confident with and that you understand, that way, it’s more likely your audience will understand too. 

Simple is often more effective than complex and technical jargon.

2. Data is Language Too

Data can be intimidating, but it’s a language in its own right, and we can use it to our advantage.

Explore your dataset to see if there’s anything you can compare and contrast. 

Personally, I like to use a percentage calculator to see if there are any newsworthy differences between two aspects of the research. 

3. Keep Sentences Short & Sweet 

Stay clear of long and unintelligible sentences to avoid loss of interest. 

Keep them short and to the point where possible, and vary sentence length to break up your writing and keep your target intrigued. 

4. Be Mindful of Cultural Differences

The relationship between language, society and culture is complex. 

When outreaching to journalists abroad, be mindful of their culture and use appropriate language that speaks to them and their values.

5. Be Critical

Throughout the writing process, whether it’s an email, press release or content, think about the language you’re using to get your key points across. 

Does this make sense? Is the structure logical? Could that sentence be shorter? Is there a synonym that reads better? 

After self-evaluation, seek peer-evaluation.

6. Remember: 7 Seconds

When writing to a journalist, dive straight into the point of the pitch because you have just seven seconds to grab their attention. 

Following a strong subject line to entice them in the first place, open with a little context, maybe an impactful statistic to support your angle, and then go into the data. 

Key Takeaway

Language is powerful and has the ability to make an incredible impact. When harnessed effectively, you can achieve great results.

Are you struggling with your brand’s outreaching techniques? Get in touch and find out how Kaizen could support your next campaign.