Let me ask you something...
When was the last time you were about to step on stage - or in a room to pitch - and felt that familiar tightening in your chest?
I coach founders, leaders, and changemakers every single week.
And without fail, one question always comes up.
Nervousness. Pitch jitters. The fear of messing up.
Every. Single. Time.
And I get it.
Because I feel it too.
The real reason we freeze
Here’s the thing - we don’t get nervous because we don’t know our stuff.
Most of us do.
We get nervous because we are terrified of messing up in front of other people.
We imagine the investor raising an eyebrow. The audience going quiet. The moderator moving on too fast. The moment where everyone sees that we’re not as polished as we pretended to be.
And that fear?
That is exactly what trips us up.
The fear of the mistake is bigger than the mistake itself.
On the Women in Tech stage
I want to tell you what happened to me on the Women in Tech stage - because if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.
Many of you saw it. Thank you for all the DMs cheering me on. Truly.
I was invited to be interviewed on stage in front of thousands of people in the room and thousands more watching online.
As a solopreneur, this was exactly the kind of stage I work towards.
A chance to share my message.
A chance to talk about clarity, confidence, and conviction.
A chance to empower more women to trust their voice and take up space in rooms where decisions are made.
And I did everything right.
Pre-meetings with the moderator - done.
Went over all the questions in advance - done.
Emailed back and forth to sharpen my answers - done.
Prepared exactly what I wanted to cover - done.
Arrived early - done.
Went to makeup long before my slot - done.
Informed the stage manager I’d be standing up mid-interview so the camera team was ready - done.
My energy?
On fire.
I wasn’t even that nervous. I know my material. If someone throws a curveball, I can catch it. I was confident, excited, and ready.
And somehow...
I still f*cked up.
What I told myself afterwards
I was upset.
For a moment, I replayed it on loop.
And then - thankfully - I heard my own coaching voice in my head - telling me what I have told my clients for the past 10+years:
WHO knows you f*cked up?
No one.
Except you.
Think about that for a second.
The audience isn’t sitting there with a transcript of what you planned to say. They have no idea what the “right” version looked like.
They only see what actually happened.
And they are far more focused on their own experience than on your performance.
Yes, you messed up.
Yes, you’ll do better next time.
But you are the only one who holds the comparison between what you intended and what came out.
Everyone else just saw a person showing up.
On a big stage.
Fully present.
So what do you do in that moment?
Here is the only thing that matters when something goes wrong:
How you handle it.
Not the mistake itself.
Not the stumble.
Not the word you forgot.
Not the slide that didn’t load.
If you fall - was it on purpose?
No one will ever know unless you tell them.
Your reaction is the story they walk away with.
Your recovery is the memory they keep.
The founders who win rooms are not the ones who never make mistakes.
They are the ones who do not let a mistake own them.
You pause.
You breathe.
You continue.
You do not apologise for something no one noticed.
You do not announce the stumble by breaking your own composure.
You keep your energy high — because that is what the room feels.
Confidence is not the absence of mistakes. It is the willingness to keep moving anyway.
Can you spot when I messed up?
Here is the video from that stage.
🎥 Can you spot when I messed up?
Watch the interview and try to find the moment I’m talking about.
See if you can tell.
Reply and tell me your guess.
Remember:
The room does not remember your stumble.
They remember your presence.
Be present.
And if you want the same practical pitching insights I shared with the Women in Tech audience, I created a free guide just for this event.
Inside, you’ll get simple, actionable tips to pitch with more clarity, credibility, and impact - whether you are stepping onto a stage, into an investor meeting, or into a room where your voice matters.
Grab it here:
My 7 Tips to Pitch With More Clarity, Credibility and Impact
See you next week,
Jenny
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Whenever you're ready - here is how I can help you.
1. Deep-dive Digital Courses - Self-paced courses teaching you the essential tools and skills you need to create and deliver a fantastic pitch so you can go from “I do not know what to say” to “when can I pitch next?
2. Speaking Engagements - I have done in-person and virtual speaking engagements at a number of companies, conferences, and private events covering a variety of topics.
3. 1:1 Coaching - Due to limited time, I only work with a handful of clients each year. If you're interested, click to apply.