Every day, people are overloaded with information. Because they are being overloaded, they only listen to people or brands that communicate simply and clearly.

You may have heard that our brain still functions in a Treat/Reward response despite millions of years of evolution. Every person’s brain is programmed to keep them alive. It means people are constantly scanning their environment for information that will help them survive and thrive. They are looking for opportunities to save money, gain status, associate with a community, and more. The essential idea is that everybody is trying to advance their life in a positive direction.

On the other hand, the brain burns a lot of calories. Humans are designed to ignore information because it takes calories to process the information they don’t need to survive and thrive. People will tune out if the information they are reading can’t easily be associated with their survival.

Here are our golden nuggets on how to construct a pitch succinctly and efficiently:

Get to the point fast.

It’s a known fact that attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Whether it’s the length of books, blogs or broadcasts, everything is shrinking. Don’t waste time with preambles. Give them an overview of your compelling proposition quickly and succinctly, and you’re more likely to capture and hold your listener’s attention at the crucial start of your pitch.

Establish the need.

Your listeners or customers are only interested in you because they are experiencing a problem. When we identify that problem and talk about it clearly, they are drawn to us. Try to give them a definite, concise statement of the problem, with an example or two illustrating the need to express your understanding of it. Then follow up with your solution to address the need.

Give them a plan.

The purpose of a simple plan is to help the listener know how easy it is to work with us. When we break down the price of working with us into simple steps, our listeners are less intimidated and more likely to take the first step forward.

Tell them how it works.

Obviously, our listeners can’t solve problems on their own; otherwise, they’d never have gotten into trouble in the first place. The truth is, they need help. By expressing empathy and demonstrating authority, we prove our competence to help them solve their problem. 

Highlight the positive results.

People want to be led to a place where their problems are resolved and they can enjoy life. Your pitch must cast a vision for what your customer’s life can look like.

Call to action.

If we don’t call on our customers to engage, they will never make a purchase. Therefore we need to make our calls to action clear and repeat them in the same language over and over.

— Written by Mina Kostova
Vice President of Public Relations 21/22