Pitching your story

You may have heard of pitching in relation to the film and television industry, in which there is a highly competitive environment for investment funds to develop ideas and bring them to fruition. Maybe you have heard of the ‘elevator pitch’ where you have a brief opportunity to communicate something to another person – that is the amount of time you are in the lift together.

The idea is that you convey a message clearly and concisely in a short time in order to make an impression on your audience, whether that be a potential funder or investor, a client, a politician, a journalist, even a colleague or your boss.

What does this have to do with the community sector? Well, we live in a world in which we are overwhelmed with information and communications. Much of the time we filter out messages, particularly if they are long, complicated or poorly designed for easy digestion. Do you want your message to get through? Try applying the pitch concept.

Interested in learning more? Listen to an 11 minute segment about pitching on This American Life, a weekly public radio show from Chicago Public Radio; check out the Elevator Pitch Contest run by MIT.