You may not have “marketing” or “sales” in your job title, but chances are, you’re still in the pitching business. That’s because most jobs require the ability to influence, persuade, and convince others. Whether you’re presenting an alternate approach to your team project during the morning scrum, lobbying for a promotion, or trying to convince your neighbors to support your idea to turn your cul-de-sac into a pickleball court, you’re pitching.
How to Make a Compelling Pitch
A simple formula to create a concise, memorable pitch on the spot.
August 14, 2023
Summary.
If you want to be an effective communicator, you’re going to need to know how to pitch your ideas, concepts, and perspectives to others in both professional environments and day-to-day interactions. To be effective, a pitch needs to be understandable, relevant, and readily convincing — without any strong-arm tactics or perceived gimmicks and tricks. And in today’s rapid-fire, short-attention-span world, it must also be concise. In this article, the author offers a simple framework for how to craft a compelling pitch. It comes down to completing four simple sentence starters: 1) What if you could… 2) So that… 3) For example… 4) And that’s not all…
New!
HBR Learning
Writing Skills Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Writing Skills. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Capture your audience's attention with smarter emails, Slacks, memos, and reports.
Learn More & See All Courses
New!
HBR Learning
Writing Skills Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Writing Skills. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Capture your audience's attention with smarter emails, Slacks, memos, and reports.