The Secret to Successfully Pitching an Idea | The Way We Work, a TED series

00:04:47
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0hVIH3EnlQ

Resumo

TLDRThe video emphasizes that successful pitching is about storytelling and understanding the audience's motivations. It outlines three steps: 1) Know your audience and tailor your pitch to their interests. 2) Frame your pitch as a hero's journey, highlighting the current situation, the conflict, and how your idea resolves it. 3) Address your weaknesses openly to build trust and confidence. By creating a compelling narrative, you can evoke FOMO in your audience, making them feel they must support your idea to avoid missing out on a significant opportunity.

Conclusões

  • 🎯 Understand your audience's motivations.
  • 📖 Frame your pitch as a compelling story.
  • 🦸‍♂️ Use the hero's journey structure.
  • ⚠️ Address weaknesses directly.
  • 💡 Create a sense of urgency with FOMO.
  • 🤝 Build trust by being transparent.
  • 🌍 Show the impact of your idea.
  • 📈 Focus on market opportunities.
  • 💬 Engage with emotional storytelling.
  • 🚀 Inspire confidence in your vision.

Linha do tempo

  • 00:00:00 - 00:04:47

    The key to successfully pitching an idea lies in creating a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) among the audience. Effective pitching is not just about having a polished presentation; it is fundamentally a storytelling exercise that engages the audience emotionally, making them feel that saying no means missing out on something significant. To pitch effectively, one must understand the audience's motivations and tailor the story accordingly, whether it be for investors, philanthropists, or colleagues. The pitch should highlight how the idea aligns with the audience's goals, creating a compelling reason for them to support it. Additionally, pitching should follow a narrative structure akin to the hero's journey, where the current situation is presented, followed by the challenges faced, and culminating in the resolution brought about by the proposed solution. Finally, addressing potential weaknesses openly and confidently can enhance credibility and inspire trust in the pitch, encouraging the audience to engage with the vision presented.

Mapa mental

Vídeo de perguntas e respostas

  • What is the secret to a successful pitch?

    The secret is FOMO: the fear of missing out.

  • How should I know my audience when pitching?

    Understand what they care about and tailor your story to their motivations.

  • What is the hero's journey in pitching?

    It's a storytelling framework that includes the hero's world, conflict, and resolution.

  • How should I address weaknesses in my pitch?

    Acknowledge them directly and explain how you plan to overcome them.

  • Why is storytelling important in pitching?

    It engages the audience and makes them feel they will miss out if they don't support your idea.

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Legendas
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Rolagem automática:
  • 00:00:00
    Do you know the secret to successfully pitching an idea?
  • 00:00:03
    Well, it's something kind of unexpected.
  • 00:00:05
    It’s FOMO: the fear of missing out.
  • 00:00:08
    [The Way We Work]
  • 00:00:12
    As someone who invests in companies early in their journeys,
  • 00:00:16
    I listen to nearly 2,000 pitches a year,
  • 00:00:19
    and I work countless hours with company founders
  • 00:00:23
    to help them make their pitch even more compelling.
  • 00:00:26
    You may equate pitching with a slick deck
  • 00:00:29
    based on some standard format,
  • 00:00:30
    but whether you're pitching a company
  • 00:00:32
    or trying to get buy-in for a passion project at work,
  • 00:00:36
    so much of pitching is a storytelling exercise.
  • 00:00:39
    You need to bring people along with you.
  • 00:00:41
    You need to tell your audience a story that not only will draw them in,
  • 00:00:47
    but it will make them feel that if they don't say yes,
  • 00:00:50
    they will be missing out on something really big.
  • 00:00:53
    [Step 1: Know your audience]
  • 00:00:54
    When people think about pitching, they're thinking inwards,
  • 00:00:58
    they think about their nerves,
  • 00:00:59
    how smoothly they're talking or what it takes to get to a yes.
  • 00:01:03
    But the secret of successful pitching is to flip it outward.
  • 00:01:06
    Who are you pitching to?
  • 00:01:07
    What do they care about?
  • 00:01:09
    How can you speak to what motivates them?
  • 00:01:11
    For example, if you're pitching your start-up idea to a venture capitalist
  • 00:01:16
    who has lots of money to invest and needs big returns,
  • 00:01:20
    they probably care about backing the next Uber or DoorDash.
  • 00:01:24
    So you should focus your story on the size of the market opportunity.
  • 00:01:28
    If you're pitching to a philanthropist or a nonprofit,
  • 00:01:31
    their motivation is likely about large social impact.
  • 00:01:35
    So focus on showing how your product or idea will improve things
  • 00:01:40
    in a lasting way.
  • 00:01:41
    If you're pitching a project at work,
  • 00:01:43
    focus on the people you're pitching the project to.
  • 00:01:46
    What do they care about?
  • 00:01:47
    More customer loyalty, more revenue,
  • 00:01:50
    or perhaps a promotion?
  • 00:01:52
    Tell them how your project will help them attain the goal that they want
  • 00:01:57
    in a way that makes it almost inevitable.
  • 00:02:00
    Give them that feeling of: “If I don’t support this,
  • 00:02:03
    I'm going to miss out on something I care about deeply."
  • 00:02:07
    [Step 2: Think about the hero's journey]
  • 00:02:09
    Pitching is much like telling a story.
  • 00:02:11
    Just like a movie tells a story.
  • 00:02:14
    You're charting the hero's journey in three acts.
  • 00:02:17
    First, you start by telling about the hero's world, the status quo.
  • 00:02:21
    In this case, the current situation
  • 00:02:24
    that your product, idea or service will be addressing.
  • 00:02:28
    Then introduce tension and conflict,
  • 00:02:31
    showing all the problems that existing products aren't yet addressing.
  • 00:02:36
    This will lead you to the big confrontation.
  • 00:02:38
    You, the hero, swooping in to save the day.
  • 00:02:42
    And from there, give the resolution.
  • 00:02:45
    How are things changed as a result of your actions?
  • 00:02:48
    How does your product, idea or service solve the problems
  • 00:02:52
    you highlighted earlier?
  • 00:02:53
    One of the best pitches I've heard followed this arc perfectly.
  • 00:02:57
    The story started with a disturbing status quo.
  • 00:03:00
    Depending on where and how it's produced,
  • 00:03:02
    one gallon of milk can take roughly 1,000 gallons of water to produce
  • 00:03:06
    and can create about six kilograms of CO2 equivalent or more in the process.
  • 00:03:11
    In this case,
  • 00:03:12
    the hero was the CEO and their team of scientists
  • 00:03:16
    and food industry experts
  • 00:03:18
    who have come up with a way to engineer plants
  • 00:03:21
    to produce the animal proteins.
  • 00:03:23
    They showed how a small crop of soybeans could create lots of delicious cheese
  • 00:03:28
    and how this could feed the global population
  • 00:03:31
    in a sustainable and yummy way.
  • 00:03:34
    To anyone who cares about both the environment and good food,
  • 00:03:39
    it was an irresistible story.
  • 00:03:41
    It made me feel like I needed to be part of it
  • 00:03:44
    or I would be missing out on a big opportunity.
  • 00:03:47
    [Step 3: Shore up your weakest point]
  • 00:03:49
    When people are done charting their hero's journey,
  • 00:03:53
    I make them identify their biggest weakness.
  • 00:03:55
    Is it that they're missing somebody on their team
  • 00:03:58
    or that it's very competitive
  • 00:04:00
    or that they're trying to do something that has never been done before?
  • 00:04:03
    Most people's instinct is to gloss over it or even skip it altogether.
  • 00:04:08
    But that's exactly the wrong thing to do
  • 00:04:10
    because the audience will notice it and will ask you about it.
  • 00:04:14
    Instead, face it directly.
  • 00:04:16
    Tell your audience, "Hey, you may think this is a problem,
  • 00:04:19
    but here's exactly what I'm going to do about it."
  • 00:04:22
    And by showing the strengths and weaknesses of your story
  • 00:04:24
    and not hiding anything,
  • 00:04:26
    you inspire confidence not only in you but also in your story.
  • 00:04:30
    The best storytellers, they live in the future,
  • 00:04:33
    and they come here not to just tell us about it,
  • 00:04:36
    but to show us the steps to get there.
  • 00:04:38
    And this makes the audience lean forward.
  • 00:04:41
    And all they need to do to be part of this amazing story is say yes.
Etiquetas
  • pitching
  • storytelling
  • FOMO
  • audience
  • hero's journey
  • weaknesses
  • confidence
  • engagement
  • motivation
  • opportunity