A pitch is an important tool in your entrepreneurial toolbox.

This is a concise presentation of you and your business idea, where empathy and body language are as important as the content.

The content should be short and concise - the aim here is to say as much as possible in a few words. This is a bit of an exercise, so it requires some work and, above all, trial and error.

Get them on the hook

Start the pitch by introducing yourself and briefly outlining your idea.

It is important that you grab the attention of your audience here, so that they listen to you from start to finish.  

It's a good idea to have an attention-grabbing tagline. The aim is to get your listeners curious and want to know more. A tagline is a sentence or phrase that sums up your idea. Preferably in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way. The tagline should create a lasting impression on the people you are talking to.

After you've said your tagline, follow up with the problem you're going to solve. Speak to the emotions and describe the problem. Show, don't tell. Feel free to include statistics and facts to back up what you say, but be careful not to get too technical. In most settings, you will be pitching to people who do not have the same professional expertise as you. Therefore, to ensure that as many people as possible follow along, minimize the use of technical terms.

The solution

So, on to your solution. What and how you're going to fix this problem. Have you done any market research? Include a summary of what people think. Maybe the results of the survey are something you can use at the start of the pitch to get people on the hook?

After this, follow up with the Unique Value Proposition - this is a way to clearly show what makes your product/service different from your competitors. What makes your idea unique?

Call to action

Conclude your pitch with a call to action (CTA). What do you want to achieve with your pitch? Include one to two sentences that sum up what you've talked about and your search.

What about your audience?

When preparing your pitch, it is important to think about who you are talking to. Your presentation should be tailored to your audience. Always have a general presentation ready, but adapt it to who you are speaking to. Same core content, but different packaging.

How to present your pitch!

How you present your pitch is as important as what you say. Some would argue that it is even more important than what you say.

• Practice a lot
  If you know what to say, it's much easier to present with confidence, which makes you seem more credible.
• It is not only what you say that is important, but also how you say it
  Your manner, body language, voice and eye contact are all important contributors to getting your points across. Make eye contact with the people you are talking to. Speak loudly and clearly. And last but not least - glow! Be engaged and enthusiastic about what you are talking about.
• Use instruments
  A pitch can be delivered in many different ways and places. If it's in a typical setting where you have access to a screen, include a powerpoint where you can show illustrations and key points. Do you have a prototype in place? Show it.

And remember, practice makes perfect!