While Perfect Pitch is a simple method, it is not easy to master. Attending a workshop or going through this course will give you the tools, but it takes time, effort and practice to become skilled.
If you are in a hurry, One-on-One Coaching will help you translate your ideas into a clear, concise and compelling pitch for your target audience, from grant managers to investors and beyond.
BU opportunities for 1:1 coaching
Faculty Entrepreneurship provides several options for developing your pitching skills and materials:
- If you have been selected to pitch for an Ignition Award, you are eligible for a coaching session at no charge to you.
- If you are interested in pitching for a sponsored research agreement (SRA), an investment or other specific audience, you may apply for a coaching session at no charge to you by doing the exercises in this course (see Preparation section below).
- If neither of the above apply, you may contract directly with Linda. Schedule a free 30-minute consult here: https://bit.ly/PitchConsult.
What to expect
Deliverables
At the end of this session, you will have:
- a draft of a new deck and associated talking points, and
- a recording of my pitching the new version for your reference.
Note: 90 minutes is usually not long enough to work through all the 10 Questions, so please do not schedule anything immediately after our session in case we run long.
Preparation
Please go through the course videos. Take the quizzes (they are short!) and, preferably, do the required exercises.
Process
Your session starts with you presenting your current deck. Neither the deck nor your words need to be polished. I will be listening for how you like to tell your story, what issues might be missing or hard to understand for a non-expert audience, and where your strengths are.
I will give you direct (but kind!) feedback on your delivery and style.
The remainder of the time will be spent in collaboration: We will rebuild your deck from the ground up based on the 10 Perfect Pitch Questions, together. I will make suggestions on words and graphics. You are encouraged to push back on and improve those suggestions.
We have only 90 minutes for this session, so please keep your pitch to 15 minutes or shorter if possible, and understand that I may cut off detailed discussions.
At the end of the session, I will pitch the new version of the deck back to you. The pitch will be recorded for your reference.
Logistics
Ignition Awards sessions are offered on both the Charles River and Medical School Campuses.
BU Community sessions are available online or on either campus (I am based in the South End of Boston). Rooms for in-person sessions should include a projector, screen and, preferably, a whiteboard.
Note: Webinar links are generated automatically when you schedule your session, so if you schedule an online session but prefer an in-person session, please inform me right away. We will book a room (and I will schedule enough time to get to your location!).
Your and my pitches (i.e., the beginning and end) are recorded for all sessions. The entire coaching session is recorded for online sessions. These recordings are exclusively for your reference and my records. I do not share them with anyone unless requested by you.