Cold Open

Practise pitching to a stranger who doesn't care — yet.

Most pitches are rehearsed for audiences who already like the pitcher. The Cold Open trains you for the stranger — someone who is sceptical, busy, and has heard fifty pitches this week. Getting good at cold opens means getting good at clarity, relevance, and handling objections without crumbling.

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How to run this

  1. Define the persona — their role, context, and default scepticism.
  2. Write your opening line — 15 seconds, no jargon.
  3. Prepare your value hook — why should they keep listening?
  4. Anticipate the top 3 objections and write your responses.
  5. Write your call to action — one specific ask.

Cold Open

Sales and pitch practice methodology · The Studio
The Studio · Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship
The Persona
Who is the stranger? Their role, how busy they are, and their default objection.
ROLE
CONTEXT / BUSYNESS
DEFAULT OBJECTION
Opening Line (15 seconds)
Lead with their problem, not your solution. No jargon. No "I'm from..." Write it out in full.
Value Hook
Why should they keep listening? What changes for them specifically if this works?
Top 3 Objections + Responses
What will they say to push back? Write the objection and your response for each.
Objection 1
Response
Objection 2
Response
Objection 3
Response
Call to Action
One specific ask. Completeable in 24 hours. Not "let's catch up sometime."
Common mistake

Opening with who you are. The stranger doesn't care yet. Lead with their problem, the size of it, or a number that makes it real.

What good looks like

A call to action so specific it can be completed in 24 hours. "Let's catch up sometime" is not a call to action.

When to move on

When you've practised the cold open with 3 people who match the persona and you can handle their top objection without losing the thread.

Try it interactively with WAiDE

WAiDE will play the sceptical stranger — giving you the objections a real prospect would raise and helping you sharpen your responses. You'll leave with a tested pitch and a session report.

Start Cold Open with WAiDE →

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