"I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter."

Blaise Pascal

In our last post, we asked you to write a one-sentence problem statement and speak to ten people who share it. If you did, you now hold something more valuable than an idea: evidence. The next challenge is communicating it. Pascal's line explains why that is hard. Brevity takes work.

A clear presentation does not mean a simple idea. It means the listener can repeat your idea back to you, accurately, after hearing it once.

Know who is listening

A customer, a mentor, a faculty panel and an investor each listen for different things. A customer wants to know whether it solves their problem. A mentor looks at how you think. A panel checks whether the idea hangs together. An investor asks whether it can grow. Decide who you are speaking to before you decide what to say.

Start with one sentence

Open with the problem statement you wrote last week: who struggles with what, and when. Then try the fifteen-second test: can you explain who your idea helps, and how, in one breath? If not, cut until you can.

The six parts of a pitch

  1. Problem. Who is struggling, and with what? Your ten conversations supply the proof.

  2. Solution. What you are building, and what changes for the user.

  3. Customer and market. Who benefits or pays first. "Everyone" is not an answer.

  4. Business model. How the venture earns or sustains itself.

  5. Proof. What exists today: conversations held, a sketch, a prototype, a pilot.

  6. Ask. What you want next, whether feedback, mentorship, a partner or funding.

Habits that make an idea easier to follow

  • One idea per slide. If a slide needs two headlines, it is two slides.

  • Plain words. If you use a technical term, explain it once in everyday language.

  • Show something real. A sketch, a photo or a short demo does more than a paragraph of description.

  • Use one true story. Describe a single real person facing the problem. It is easier to remember than a statistic.

  • Use numbers sparingly. Pick two or three that matter, and be ready to say where they came from.

Questions every panel asks

Prepare short answers to these before you present:

  • Who exactly is your first customer?

  • Why you, and why now?

  • How will this make money or sustain itself?

  • What do people use today instead?

  • What have you done so far?

Common mistakes

  • Starting with the technology. Open with the problem. The technology is the answer, not the headline.

  • Too much text. If the audience is reading your slide, they are not listening to you.

  • Hiding the business model. Even a simple one is better than none.

  • Skipping rehearsal. Practise aloud, with a timer, at least three times.

  • Ignoring the format. If you pitch online, test your audio, screen sharing and connection beforehand.

Practise it

Write your idea as an outline of about ten slides, one sentence per slide. Pitch it in two minutes to someone outside your field, then ask them to repeat back the problem. If they cannot, the problem needs sharper words.

In our next post, we study a pitch that worked: how the founders of Airbnb presented an idea that many investors doubted.