The first person I ever pitch a new product idea to is myself.

9.587 out of 10 times I’ll hate it.

In fact, despise might be a more accurate way of putting it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m nice about it.

I sit down, look it over, and offer constructive criticism, I even try to see past the more glaring flaws in the product concept, marketing plan, launch strategy and basic premise to whatever core principle I was trying to express. In the end, I send the idea back to the drawing board with as few bruises and scratches as I can manage.

The funny thing about this exercise is that three weeks later, when I step up to the plate to pitch the idea again, I inevitably like it better. The difference isn’t that I changed huge chunks of concept, as it turns out, the problem wasn’t so much the idea but the pitch itself.

Before you zero in on your final product, talk to yourself about it (it’s exactly like it sounds). Pitch yourself and find out whether or not you get it.

Most importantly, bite the bullet and be honest about how the entire thing sounds coming out of your mouth.

One of the most important skills that any of us can have is the ability to disassociate ourselves from our own thoughts. To remove, temporarily, the knee-jerk reflex to coddle and suffocate every “great idea” we churn out.

By doing your pitch and telling your story outloud you can start to pick out the bits that just don’t make sense, the elements that don’t flow and the parts of your brilliant plan that simply can’t work. Without touching the concept itself, by just trying to explain it honestly, openly and concisely in real words — the same words you might use to tell a potential customer — you you can fix a lot of the problems you might miss just playing around with the details.

If you can’t clearly explain what it is you’re idea does, it’s usually a sign that there is something that needs fixing.

If you’re having a hard time cutting your pitch down to a reasonable length, your idea might be a wee bit complex.

If you can’t clearly see another human being understanding what you’re trying to convey if they didn’t live inside of your brain, it’s time to start pulling back a little and looking at where things are going wrong.

You are your own worse critic, if you can learn to pitch yourself well, that will go a long way towards communicating your idea effectively to others.