Be confident - Secret success sauce for PitchingThere is a saying that goes like this, "An important key to self-confidence is preparation."The confidence throughout the pitching comes from thorough research and deep understanding of the target market and product, multiple-time rehearsals and the way you look and present on the big day. You can also join pitching competitions to be trained necessary skills, rehearse and gain experience as well as listen to direct feedback from investors to improve your presentation. Moreover, if your first attempt is not successful, just happily accept it and work on your pitching skills a little more. Do not let the setback undermine you and your faith in the startup. Here are 3 tips to help you boost your confidence before the pitching and impress investors: Pay attention to your clothes. Like it or not, clothes is usually the first thing that people notice about you. Carmine Gallo, a business communication expert shared in his article on Harvard Business Review (HBR) that “Dress 25% better than anyone else in the room.” Dressing a little better than everyone else will make you look confident. Here, the moderation and “a little better” is key. Your clothes need to be appropriate for the situation, but aim to be slightly more polished. Control your voice and pace your delivery: Don’t turn your pitch into a rapid-fire one due to the time constraint. Control your breathing and take occasional 2-second pauses for the audience to digest the information you have just given. Show enthusiasm and hope for your ideas and products. Rehearse many times before the Demo Day. Maintain an open posture: have your two hands out of your pockets with palms facing up and above the waist. Avoid the hunchback posture as it shows uncertainty and lack of confidence. You should also not stand near the podium. Move on stage and scan the room, that way, you will be able to deliver your presentation with comfort.   In short, the aim of pitching is to spark investors’ interest then comes the investment, so in order to have a winning pitch, you need to pay attention not only to the deck but also the way you appear as the startup representative. Even if you do not get any investment, the pitching can still somehow help you gain valuable lessons, be it the way to better deliver the presentation next time or investors’ advice on the improvement that your business needs. Pitching is like "advertising" for your business and you can even use pitching skills in other situations such as finding partners, persuading customers or acquiring talents to work for the company. For the 1st and 2nd part of this article, please visit: Part 1:  http://startup.gov.vn/Pages/chi-tiet-tin-tuc.aspx?l=Tintucsukien&ItemID=320 Part 2:  http://startup.gov.vn/Pages/chi-tiet-tin-tuc.aspx?l=Tintucsukien&ItemID=321