Office English

medium level

Office English / Pitching

Episode 250609/ 09 Jun 2025

4.1(23,511 ratings)·32,715 students

Transcript

Note: This is a transcript of a spoken conversation and is not a word-for-word script.

Phil

Have you ever had to pitch an idea at work? Was it stressful?

Beth

I think the key to pitching is almost practising. So talking to people outside of work and seeing if they can understand you.

Neil

It is stressful because I think until you see the reaction of the person who you're pitching your idea to, even if you think it's brilliant, you have a big, big doubt.

Pippa

Today on Office English, we're talking about how to share your ideas at work.

Phil

Hello and welcome to Office English from BBC Learning English, our podcast about the language of work. I'm Phil.

Pippa

And I'm Pippa. You can find a transcript of this episode to read along on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

Phil

We've just heard from our BBC Learning English colleagues how they feel about pitching ideas at work. Have you had to pitch ideas, Pippa? How did you find it?

Pippa

I have had to pitch ideas. I haven't really ever had to do a really formal business pitch that you see sometimes on the television, but I have had to pitch ideas and I find it a bit stressful. I think if it's an informal setting, then I find it OK, but if there's pressure to come up with ideas and if I'm asked to think of an idea in advance, I find it more stressful than just kind of having a conversation. How about you?

Phil

Usually when I've pitched things, it's been as part of a sort of structured process. So it's kind of you go through all the steps, but in itself it's not that stressful because you're not face to face with someone. So sometimes it's easier doing it in an email.

Pippa

OK. Well today we're going to talk about some tips for pitching and getting your ideas heard.