A strong pitch for Pitch And Deal

I went to the NUJ Pitch and Deal course at Headland House in London on 1 March. Not only did I meet Julian Hale there again (from the CEC Brussels) but I really enjoyed the day and found it very productive.

The 2 tutors are a great team. Humphrey Evans, an experienced all-round freelancer and trainer, is full of useful tips. Phil Sutcliffe, a rock music freelancer who looks a bit like an ageing rock star himself, kept us on track when the role plays threatened to over-run.

They wisely focused on role-plays from the start, turning down a request for us all to introduce ourselves (’It will take at least 15 minutes, as there are 15 of you, and you can do the schmoozing over lunch’).

A sign of a successful course is the number of emails it generates afterwards. I’ve had plenty, including invitations to events in London that unfortunately I can’t go to. I came back with creative ideas (from the group as well as the tutors) for where to pitch my articles, greater confidence in my ability to pitch and a warm sense of being part of a community of other freelancers.