At Volume Nine, everyone joins in on a client pitch at some point, whether they’re leading the charge or there for support. While some are natural public speakers and thrive when pitching, others prefer to remain safely behind screens, making SEO magic happen.

No matter our personal feelings about public speaking, everyone here at Volume Nine was excited to have Jay Mays, founder of Pitch Lab, stop by for an afternoon “beer-and-learn” talk recently.

Jay did stand-up comedy for years and picked up a few tricks for engaging an audience – and keeping them engaged. He rolls this into his 20 years of experience in sales and business development to create an awesome, funny, and educational workshop called Pitch Lab. During the workshop, he teaches how to become a better speaker and give better pitches, incorporating lessons from famous stand-up comedians.

V9’s Pitch Lab Experience

The workshop started with each member of the V9 team delivering jokes from Mitch Hedberg and ended with some brave V9ers pitching the team meat water, prescription windshields, and energy drinks for zoo animals. Along the way, we learned about engaging a crowd, minimizing stage fright, cutting out “ums” and “likes”, and much more. Even the most seasoned public speakers among us walked away with some new lessons about delivering an engaging pitch.

What V9ers Think of Pitch Lab

Here’s what some of the team had to say about their Pitch Lab experience:

“I loved the comedic examples and how famous comedians also incorporate public speaking methods in their stand-up. It was a great reminder that presentations don’t have to be boring. Even a sales pitch can be funny and engaging!” – Olivia

"Pitch Lab delivers priceless lessons on how to speak and captivate an audience by anchoring your approach in stand-up comedy. Essential for anyone who wants to sharpen up on public speaking, beginner or advanced." – Ben

“Anytime you can combine an educational presentation with the natural humor of a stand-up comic, you’ve struck pure gold. The techniques learned are applicable across any industry and can help anyone move through client-facing work in a more confident (and funny) way.” – Brian

“I liked the combination of the fun, easy-going aura of stand-up comedy with high-pressure business pitches. Plus, who doesn't like to practice their techniques while talking about llamas or energy drinks?!” – Ashley

"Pitch Lab is funny, engaging, and interestingly practical for business applications. You will become aware of non-verbal communications you've never been aware of before, and how to improve your persuasion and confidence on an entirely new level...and laugh while doing it." – Jeremy

"The Pitch Lab workshop provided actionable tips on presenting/pitching in a super engaging, exciting and memorable way. The key takeaway for me was learning a whole new approach to presentations that I will definitely apply moving forward." – Carly