Your pitch is a story and stories need structure. There is a reason why almost every story ever told has a beginning, middle and end. People want to be taken on a journey.
We seek out stories instinctively because they create connections and foster understanding. Therefore, your pitch should follow the same rule of three.
Strong Beginnings
Start your pitch with strong beginnings. Your beginning needs to engage your audience and get them excited for the rest of your pitch. Introduce your characters (users), the world they live in and the challenge they face that your startup addresses.
During the beginning of your pitch try to find common ground and connection with your audience by focusing on something that everyone can agree on.
The end of the beginning should be a clear point for the audience. They should know for the remainder of the pitch you are going to discuss how to solve the problem.
Action Packed Middle
The middle is without question the substance of your pitch. Continue to contrast the world before your solution and the world after. Explain to your audience everything you have done, the progress you have made and outline the journey still ahead.
The middle of your presentation is likely to be less well structured and perhaps a little messy. Embrace the messiness. The tension and momentum in your pitch should continue to climb across the middle with the end of the middle being the peak.
Satisfying Endings
The end of the pitch is the last chance to form an emotional connection with your audience, and you need to. The end is about leaving your audience exactly as you want them to be. You want your audience to have a feeling of hope and an understanding of the rewards available in the future when your vision is realised.
You also want your audience leaving your pitch wanting more, more engagement with you and your startup and hopefully a desire to give you investment.
Your pitch should be a story and like all stories, it needs 3 parts, a beginning, middle and end. If your pitch doesn’t build in momentum as it progresses, build contrasts between a before and after and finish with a bang then you need to review it.