Creating an Effective In-Person or Virtual Pitch

A case study presents either a real-life situation or a simulation of a real-life situation. A case study mirrors the complexity that you would experience in the business world. Cases often contain enough information to support multiple viable solutions, so part of your role in analyzing a case study is to recognize what information supports certain solutions.

A case study is self-contained. Ordinarily, case studies contain all the information you need to appropriately respond to them. While case studies may not always be straightforward about the kinds of questions you should ask or what information is relevant to the question, they possess the content you need to address the problem. Sometimes professors will ask you to do additional research to support your response.

A case study is composed to elicit a response. Case studies are teaching tools designed to encourage students to respond in a certain way. Consequently, case studies are open-ended. Not only do they contain information to support various different points, but there are also certain pieces of information missing to create room for student responses.

As with all persuasive communication, you can create and leverage a Rhetorical Situation to build credibility for your case and as a speaker with your audience. Here are some strategies for doing so:

• Connect with your audience: This is an application of being “audience-driven”, as mentioned above. It is important to consider that this connection can (and should) take both logical, objective forms as well as subjective, more emotional ones. For example, say that you are getting interviewed for a job, and have researched the histories of your interviewers. By choosing parts of your relevant work and personal experience that match theirs, you create shared understanding of things you both value while simultaneously building your case as a job candidate.
• Tell a story: It is difficult to make a persuasive case for anything with a stream of facts alone. To tell a story in the context of your pitch, follow the classic “story mountain”- draw in your listeners at the beginning with your goal (often through an attention getter), make your argument for your goal, and finish by describing means of accomplishing it. To read more about business storytelling, check out our article on the subject.
• Simplify, simplify, simplify: As stated at the beginning of this article, one of the most difficult aspects of pitches is their time constraints. While some may last upwards of 30 minutes, there are other situations in which you may only have 30 seconds! Simplification accomplishes several things in this context- it makes your content easier to understand, faster to communicate, and, ultimately, more effective at persuading others. For these reasons, part of preparing your pitches should always include time set aside for condensing relevant information and removing unnecessary components.

Virtual communication has long been a part of business proceedings, and has only become more important in the wake of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. While everything already stated in this article applies to virtual pitching, there are some additional skills that should be kept in mind when using this medium.

• Be professional: We tend to relax in non-work environments, and the move to work-at-home can unintentionally bring this mood to your workplace. As a result, it is imperative to create a professional environment at home through dressing professionally, maintaining a dedicated workspace, and speaking cordially.
• Speak slowly: When we are held to a time limit (whether it is directly stated or not), we tend to talk faster in an attempt to get across more information in less time. However, this can cause several issues. First, speaking fast may make it difficult for listeners to identify key points of your argument and how you substantiate them. Second, speaking too quickly will not give your listeners time to process and understand information (integrating pauses as transitions between ideas can help with this). Finally, virtual mediums do not always function at 100% technical health; that is, if the audio stream cuts from a presenter who is already speaking too fast, it becomes even more difficult to stay engaged.
• Be authentic: Business professionals that listen to pitches- whether they be hiring managers, buyers, or executives- are experts at detecting the passion of the presenter (or the lack thereof). If you want the goal of your communication to be fully realized, remember to present it in a way that shows not only why those listening should care, but also why you find value in the case you’re making.