Pitch Perfect-ish: How to Crush Nerves & Nail Client Conversations (Inside Launch the Damn Thing)
Katelyn Dekle of Launch the Damn Thing
(This blog post contains affiliate links denoted by a 💸)
Recently I had the honor of teaching inside Katelyn Dekle's Launch the Damn Thing — her no-BS community for web designers who want to build businesses on their own terms, their own way.
If you don't know Katelyn yet, here's what you need to know: she built Launch the Damn Thing because her old boss didn't get her, and she was done trying to fit into someone else's idea of how business should work. She saw the gap between what web designers needed and what the industry was serving up, and she filled it — no permission required. She's salt-of-the-earth real, zero fluff, and the kind of straight-shooter who cuts through business guru BS with a single sentence.
I actually met Katelyn through Paige Brunton's monthly alumni Q&As. Paige brought her on as a partner to offer two different perspectives — Paige from Switzerland with her jet-setting life, Katelyn from the US with her grounded, practical approach. Watching them riff together is pure gold because you get the best of both worlds: different experiences, different angles, mutual respect. That's Katelyn's superpower, actually — she makes complex things feel doable and brings people together in a way that makes everyone better.
She built Launch the Damn Thing because her old boss didn't get her. And if you've ever had a boss who just didn't understand how you work best, you know how soul-crushing that is. So Katelyn created her own path, mashing together art + design + tech + AI-powered solopreneurship, all served up with that "let's just get it done" energy. Her mission? Help designers make money doing what they love, the way they want to do it — because honestly, their way is probably the best way anyway.
So stepping into her community to talk about nerves and pitching — something so many creatives wrestle with — was an absolute gift. So let’s get into it!
If you’d rather watch the replay than read you can do that here:
Everyone Gets Nervous — and That's Good!
Mark Twain once said there are two kinds of public speakers:
Those who get nervous
And those who are liars
If your hands shake, your voice goes up an octave, your stomach feels like it’s hosting Cirque du Soleil before a client call — congrats, you’re alive.
The amount of stress a human feels public speaking, presenting, or pitching is equal to the amount of stress an astronaut feels being blasted into space or a soldier feels as they enter combat. That's why it feels so intense. But here's the reframe that changes everything: nerves and excitement have the same physiological properties, just different labelling…
I call that nervous zing “carbonated energy.” That fizzy, champagne-bubble feeling can actually make you sparkle if you let it move through you instead of trying to squash it down. Remember back to being three years old on Christmas morning — so wound up you could barely sit still. That's nerves AND excitement. That's life showing up in your body. And that carbonated energy makes you sparkle.
And by the way — Katelyn’s community? They don’t pretend they’re not nervous. They show up, say it out loud, and do it anyway. That’s the culture she’s built inside Launch the Damn Thing. And honestly, that bravery is half the battle.
Forget Confidence. Aim for Competence.
Hot take: confidence is overrated.
My pal Corina Chase and I chatted this out in a YouTube Live awhile back. I know every Instagram quote tile tells you to "just be confident." But confidence is like a flaky friend — it shows up when things are easy and ghosts you when things get hard.
Corina says what you really want is competence. Competence means you know what you’re doing and how to do it. And the way you get to that point is by rehearsing. Preparing. Knowing your stuff backwards and forward, so well that if/when your ex walks into the room or your WiFi glitches mid-pitch, or someone’s cellphone rings while you’re speaking, you don't lose your place. You can handle whatever happens because you're that prepared.
So how do we get Competent?
As an actor I learned from one of the greats, Tom Todoroff, that the key to booking more work was to be SUPER PREPARED. His rule of thumb? 250 reps. So I make a habit of rehearsing my lines 250 times before stepping on stage or in front of the camera.
Before I ever step on stage or in front of a camera, I’ve run the scene at least that many times. Not because I’m chasing perfection—but because that level of repetition gives me freedom. When you know something inside-out, you can throw away the script and actually play.
Now, you don’t have to memorize your client presentation word-for-word (please don’t—it’ll sound robotic). But you do want to be able to talk through your key points about 250 times—different moods, different audiences, different days. Try running it with a friend, your dog, or even me. Practice with someone who can interrupt you, look distracted, or ask questions, so you learn to stay grounded no matter what energy the other person brings.
That’s the secret sauce. Rehearsal isn’t about perfection—it’s about resilience.
👉🏼 Want to experience what that kind of preparation feels like? Book a 1:1 coaching session with me, and we’ll run your pitch together—real-time, human-to-human—so you’re ready for anything the room throws at you.
Competency frees you up to be present in the moment instead of panicking about what comes next.
BTW, Katelyn is the queen of competence. On her website, she has this amazing section where she shares every class and course she’s ever taken — complete with her honest, no-fluff reviews. She’s like that one friend who’s already done all the homework so you don’t have to. I mean, you still have to move through the courses if you decide to take them! But Katelyn tells you which ones are actually worth your time. (I just took her advice and purchased Systems Over Stress by Ashley Rose. Stay tuned for my review…)
Lesson: Confidence is overrated. Choose competency instead.
Ok, so….
You’ve reframed nervousness as excitement.
You’ve rehearsed your pitch 250 times.
But…you can still freeze if the voice in your head is screaming “Don’t screw this up!!!” Competency gets you grounded, but confidence — the real kind — comes from how you treat yourself when the nerves show up. So….
Nurture Your Nervous Self.
One of my favorite exercises is to imagine that the part of you that gets nervous is actually its own little person — a younger version of you who just needs care and reassurance.
Maybe your inner kid is shy or fidgety or wants to hide behind the nearest curtain. Mine? She’s about six, wearing a sparkly tutu, clutching a matted stuffed bunny, and demanding more colorful, permanent magic markers. She’s loud, messy, and totally freaked out about being judged — or worse, abandoned. Oh, and she stamps her feet. A lot.
You can either try to shove that little one in a closet (which never works — she’ll just bang louder), or you can scoop her up, whisper that everything’s going to be okay, hold her close, and make her feel safe. When you do that, you stop fighting yourself. You become calmer, more compassionate, and way more authentic.
Don’t Bury Her. Bring Her.
And believe me, I’ve tried the other way — locking that tantrum-y version of myself in a closet, stuffing her under the stairs, even leaving her in a hot car in the San Fernando Valley. None of that ever works. That little part of me just screams louder. And because she’s actually me, I can hear her everywhere I go.
So now, when I feel her start to freak out — before an audition, a client meeting, or a big presentation — I don’t try to silence her. I scoop her up, tell her she’s safe, and bring her with me. She doesn’t have to behave perfectly; she just has to come along. Because if I try to leave her behind, she’ll still find a way to make noise.
When you bring that nervous part of yourself with you, something shifts. She settles down. You stop fighting yourself. You become warmer, more grounded, more human and imperfect — and that’s what people connect to. ✨Imperfection is more real, more relatable, and more likable.
If you want a step-by-step playbook of how to do this — to turn that nervous inner six-year-old into your biggest ally instead of your saboteur, you can grab my free Crush Your Nerves eBook. It walks you through the exact mindset shift and mini-rituals I teach my clients before high-stakes conversations, presentations and meeting.
We’re living in an age of AI and Instagram filters. Audiences and clients are savvy — they can tell what’s real and what’s not. The world is craving something alive. And there’s nothing more real than a living, breathing human who’s sweating or breathing hard because they’re having a very human, physiological response to presenting or speaking in public.
It’s uncomfortable at first. It’s scary. But when you let your nervous self tag along, you give people a reason to trust you, relate to you, and fall in love with your bravery.
So, bring your nervous self with you. She makes you human. She makes you real. And that’s what’s truly attractive, appealing, and desirable.
Lights, Camera, Connection.
These are the practical magic tips I chatted about with Katelyn and her group — the lighting tricks, pacing tweaks, and mindset shifts that make you come across like the grounded, magnetic human you are.
You don’t need a Hollywood lighting setup to look and feel great on Zoom — I promise. And I hate ring lights! Just a few smart tweaks to your lighting, pacing, and focus can make a huge difference in how confidently you come across. These are the quick, real-world fixes we worked on during the workshop, and they work like a charm whether you’re pitching or presenting.
Tech setup matters:
Frame your camera at eye level. Nobody looks confident when the camera’s looming from above, and too low? Suddenly it’s giving Hitchcock meets American Psycho.
Light yourself from the front, not the side or worse, behind. And please, can we talk about ring lights for a second? I hate them. Those little glowing UFOs reflected in your eyes are so distracting — and they flatten you out instead of making you glow. My cheap secret weapon is 1000% better and cheaper: a $12 Chinese lantern (💸) with a pendant light (💸) hung from a Command hook (💸) from the ceiling— Directors and interviewers compliment mine constantly.
Avoid busy clothing patterns that compete with your face for attention
Skip the highlighter and gloss on camera. They look great irl, but they're reflective and distracting on camera, and can even make you look kind of slimy….🐉
Pacing: Take your time. Breathe. There’s a lot of communication that happens in silence. Don’t be afraid of those quiet moments. Smile. Connect with the person you’re speaking to. Your words deserve room to land. Imagine a period at the end of each sentence and actually let it be there.
Humor + honesty: If you mess up or misspeak, who cares?! Acknowledge it, laugh, take a breath and keep going. Johnny Carson built his entire career on recovering from flubs –– his embarrassed expression made him millions. People loved it and him. Laughing at yourself makes you human, and that is infinitely more appealing than being perfect and distinguishes you from an idealized AI phenomenon.
Focus on your objective: Instead of obsessing over “Am I doing this right?” shift your thinking to “How can I help the person I’m speaking to? What do they need? How can I be of service?”
That tiny pivot takes the focus off you and out of self-conscious mode, and puts it on something actionable — something you can actually do instead of overthinking. It also drops you into discernment mode: “Is this even the right fit? Do I actually want to work with this person?”
Your job isn't to be perfect. Your job is to connect.
Case Study: Sharon's Hot Seat Coaching.
During the workshop, Sharon (a web designer inside of Katelyn’s Community) bravely volunteered for hot seat coaching. 💪🏼
Sharon explained that she was going to an art show and since her ICAs are fine artists, she anticipated meeting several of them. So, we role-played. I helped enact the scenario Sharon described so she could practice an off-the-cuff pitch of her web design services to a glass artist she anticipated meeting at the art show.
Here's what worked:
She was genuinely curious about the artist's work
She didn't bulldoze the conversation
She actually listened and the conversation grew organically and naturally
Here's what we tweaked:
We decided she could mention what she did a little sooner (the elephant-in-the-room principle)
When the artist said, "I probably can't afford you," instead of freezing, we practiced using humor: "I might surprise you."
That one line shifted the whole energy. Instead of slamming the door shut, it left it cracked open — and it was playful, not pushy.
Katelyn herself jumped in with brilliant insights from her own practice: on video discovery calls, she watches facial expressions obsessively. Is the client stuck on something? Distracted? Not following? That real-time adjustment only comes from being present, not performing.
The Epicenter Breath (Try This Right Now).
We also practiced one of my favorite grounding tools — something I call the Epicenter Breath.
Here’s how to do it: Close your eyes and find that ball of feeling in your chest — your heart center — where all your emotions live and hang out. That’s your emotional epicenter. Bookmark that spot. We’ll come back to it.
Now notice your natural breath. Where is it? Does it begin in your throat, your chest, your belly? See if you can relax enough to let it drop lower, into your solar plexus — to start coming from your belly.
Once your breath has relaxed, imagine you’re drawing it through that emotional epicenter. Picture your breath as a paintbrush and your feelings as the paint. Let that brush move through all the colors and textures of your emotion, then express it on a long, steady “sssss” sound.
This connects your voice to your emotions and grounds you instantly. Women especially tend to pitch our voices up into our heads; this helps you reclaim that full, resonant chest voice — the one that makes people lean in.
Download my free guided warmup here so you can practice this before your next big call.
Wrapping It Up.
At the end of the day, pitching is not about slickness. It's not about never sweating. It's about showing up as yourself — rehearsed enough to be grounded, loose enough to be present, and brave enough to let your sparkle out.
✨ Your story sells. Your sparkle seals the deal.
If you're a web designer, you’ll love Katelyn Dekle’s Launch the Damn Thing— the cozy, no-BS corner of the internet where creatives build businesses on their own terms (and where the full replay of this workshop lives.) Think strong coffee, crunchy leaves, flannel, and zero pretense.
Join Launch the Damn Thing here and surround yourself with creatives who are building businesses on their own terms.
And while you’re here, grab a free resource or three to keep building your confidence and connection:
And if you want personal feedback or practice with a real human (me!), book a 1:1 coaching session — we’ll run your pitch, troubleshoot, and get you feeling grounded and ready.
Now go forth and pitch like the brilliant creative badass you are!
Adria Tennor is a professional actor and acting and public speaking coach with 30+ years of experience. She helps creatives find their voice and own their power and specializes in turning nervous energy into authentic connection.
