A while ago I heard somebody say: ‘writing a pitch is for amateurs, the professionals freestyle their pitch’. Although I really like and admire this entrepreneur, this is the most stupid thing I ever heard.

A pitch generally doesn’t last for more than 5 minutes, it’s an opportunity to make one, or many people excited about your company. A great pitch requires an introduction, a problem statement, a solution statement, a market description, a team description and a call to action. Every sentence should be thought of. Every sentence should lead to that moment where your audience says ‘wow, that’s a great idea’.

You can guess my answer to the question: ‘Should I write my pitch text completely?’

Yes. You should write and practice your pitch thoroughly.

For more concrete tips on creating a killer pitch, check out the Ultimate Pitch Guide.

It’s important to have a clear storyline in your pitch. This way it’s easy for your audience to understand where you’re talking about. A clear storyline in your pitch also helps you to remember where you’re at in your pitch.

The structure I always recommend goes as follows:

1. The opening
2. The problem
3. The solution
4. The market
5. The team
6. Call to action

 Learn more about using a storyline in your pitch, get the Ultimate Pitch Guide.

To entertain the audience in a pitch it’s important to pay attention to 3 things:

• A clear structure
• Make it concrete
• Keep it energized

 1. A clear structure

To entertain the audience in a pitch, it’s important to have a clear structure. The structure I always recommend goes as follows:

1. The opening
2. The problem
3. The solution
4. The market
5. The team
6. Call to action

This way it’s easy for your audience to pay attention, as this structure is easy to follow.

2. Make it concrete

Use examples, numbers and (short) stories.

The more concrete, the easier it’s for your audience to follow and the more entertaining it will be.

3. Keep it energized

One of the most important aspects of a good pitch is the energy of the pitcher. Personally, this is one of my biggest strengths. Since I’m high in my energy throughout the day anyway, it’s easy for me to do this as well during a pitch. However, if you’re a bit more introvert or if you’re used to take things a bit slower, really try to practice an energized pitch.

The reason why you should pitch with a lot of energy, is because it is highly contagious. Roberto Cialdini, expert on influencing, describes in his book that human beings tend to mimic each other. If you’re able to pitch with a lot of energy, so will your audience be. Since energized people are more positive, this will work in your advantage when they mentally judge your pitch.

Learn more about entertaining with your pitch, get the Ultimate Pitch Guide.

The way you finish your pitch is extremely important. This is where your audience decides whether they will remember your pitch, or even better, do something with your pitch.

There is only one way to finish a pitch effectively. Finish your pitch with a call to action.

During this part you tell your audience what you want them to do. Do you want them to invest? To partner up? To make a deal?

Be clear about your call to action and focus on only one. Research shows that mentioning multiple call to actions reduces the success of your call to action. During your call to action, it’s important to be as precise as possible about what you want from your audience.

Learn more about finishing your pitch, get the Ultimate Pitch Guide.

The opening is one of the most important aspects of your pitch. It determines whether people will be listening to your pitch. There are 3 ways you can use to start a pitch.

1. A personal story

When you start your pitch with a short personal story, you build a relationship with your audience within a minute. A personal story helps them to get to know you better. At the same time, they feel sympathy for you because you opened up and put yourself in a vulnerable position.

2. A question for the audience

This one works especially well with large audiences as it forces everybody to listen and put their phones away. A question stimulates your audience to actively participate in your pitch.

Very important: this question should always be a yes or no question, as you don’t want to start a long conversation with your audience during your pitch. A few examples:

3. A bold statement

This is my personal favourite. Starting off your pitch with a bold statement usually has a big impact on your audience. A good bold statement has a small shocking effect, which will ‘wake them up’ and have them listen to you for the rest of your pitch. A few examples of bold statements:

• ‘95% of the pitches suck, well actually maybe even 99%.’

• ‘Every day 52,000 people are pitching to an investor. Almost all of them do a horrible job’

Want to know more about opening a pitch? Check out the Ultimate Pitch Guide.

The perfect structure for a pitch looks like this:

1. The opening
2. The problem
3. The solution
4. The market
5. The team
6. Call to action

This is quite a fixed structure, which I use for almost all of my pitches. So how to use storytelling in my pitch?

I usually blend the storyline in the first 3 parts of my pitch.

1. During the opening of a pitch I will start with a bold statement such as: ‘45% of the restaurant is bankrupt within 3 years’
2. During the problem part I will introduce Johnny, the owner of an Italian restaurant who struggles to fill his tables. I will tell the audience that he works 80 hours a week but can barely pay the bills.
3. During the solution part I will tell them how my app solved all Johnny’s problems and how he just opened his second restaurant a few blocks away.

Since you usually don’t have a lot of time to pitch your company, you can’t go too much into detail. However, simple using an example of a happy customer does the trick.

For more concrete tips on designing a killer pitch, check out the Ultimate Pitch Guide.