Seven Pitch Meeting Taboos

Executives at Nickelodeon after Higgins Benzine and I pitched Sea Dentist.

If you're in the aTV animation field, or aspire to be, than pitching original series ideas is a bread-and-butter task. Abundant resources are available to tell you how to nail it. But few take the time to guide you around the rocks and shoals of artless questions often asked in haste and regretted in leisure. Here are a few no-nos culled from novices and veterans alike.

(Originally posted Dec, 2011, I again present my thoughts on seven key sentences that can lead to an EBT card.)

1. Why doesn't this studio ever buy anything I bring in here?
In the animation world, ask and you shall not receive.

2. How many dim bulbs get to make notes on the scripts?
This query ensures you won't remain around long enough to count them.

3. My agent says you have fecal incontinence.
Possibly so, but a seasoned animation veteran leaves medical issues for a more relaxed time.

4. Pilots are for timid losers. People with nuts go directly to 65 half hours.
Brashness can lead to ample free time.

5. I worked hard on this pitch and all you do is smile and nod like a dog hanging out a car window.
Pithy observations are best shared with peers and not animation executives.

6. Hey, this office has a killer view. I can see the car I'm living in!
Sadly, economic prejudice is alive and well in Hollywood.

7. When I worked here before, I would lock my office door and inflate a plastic woman.
This sort of provocative anecdote demands a strong response such as 'be silent and go away now.'

Image:  corcodilos.com

5. I worked hard on this pitch and all you do is smile and nod like a dog hanging out a car window.
Pithy observations are best shared with peers and not animation executives. - See more at: http://writeenough.blogspot.com/2011/12/seven-things-not-to-say-in-pitch.html#sthash.lfofHHzI.dpuf

5. I worked hard on this pitch and all you do is smile and nod like a dog hanging out a car window.
Pithy observations are best shared with peers and not animation executives. - See more at: http://writeenough.blogspot.com/2011/12/seven-things-not-to-say-in-pitch.html#sthash.lfofHHzI.dpuf

5. I worked hard on this pitch and all you do is smile and nod like a dog hanging out a car window.
Pithy observations are best shared with peers and not animation executives. - See more at: http://writeenough.blogspot.com/2011/12/seven-things-not-to-say-in-pitch.html#sthash.lfofHHzI.dpuf