What is a Pitch?
A pitch is a short monologue aiming to showcase the key concepts of a business idea, in order to win the attention of potential investors and convince them to support your project.
The golden rules
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Your audience is important
Involve it in your idea and look at everyone: do not focus on one person, or worse, do not stare into space! You are talking to investors or potential clients. Build your monologue according to the people in front of you!
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Rule the stage
The pitch is a performance! Good posture, controlled and precise gestures used only to reinforce a specific concept, a firm voice are all elements that will support your idea. If you show self-confidence and master your topic, you will automatically gain credibility to the eyes of your audience.
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Prepare your speech in the best way possible
Be clear in exposing your idea. Plan the structure and the content of your speech in a logical way and express yourself as naturally as possible: do not learn it by heart, but rather practice it several times. While describing your business idea, use the right intonation and make appropriate pauses to engage the audience and maintain their concentration at a high level.
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Respect the established timing
Time really is money for an audience of investors. Use every minute at your disposal in the best way possible: finishing your speech minutes before the scheduled time will give the impression your project has not been presented, thus exposed, to the fullest. Conversely, extending your speech far too much makes you run the risk of being interrupted while presenting a key point, showing poor management skills.
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First impressions count
The first 10 seconds of your pitch must capture your audience’s attention and entice it to listen your business project. Present yourself and introduce the problem. Do not forget the final call to action: why should investors finance your idea? What makes your team better than others?
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There’s strength in numbers
A winning team is often worth more than a brilliant idea! Highlighting the expertise and the knowledge of your team will instill confidence in your investors, since they will know they can count on qualified individuals who will be able to do what they propose.
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A picture is worth a thousand words
Slides should clarify and visually reinforce the contents of your pitch. For this reason, it is crucial to select impacting images and to choose a graphic style that is in line with the idea to be exposed. Facilitate the legibility and readability of the text using appropriate fonts and color contrast (e.g. black text on a white background) and split the concepts into multiple slides: each of them should refer to a specific key moment.
Will CLabbers succeed in presenting the perfect pitch?
Only the teams of CLab Unica’s fifth edition complying with all the rules will have the opportunity to appear on the stage of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and to participate in the finals scheduled on March 25, 2018!
