Your script is fully developed, and you are ready to shop around for Directors, Producers, and Investors. These are very busy people, and the better you understand their world, the better position you will be placed in to fulfill your projects. In short, do not waste their time! Get to the business of the business very quickly. You have 5 to 10 minutes to show a pitch that will offer opportunities for those you want involved in the project's creation. It doesn't matter how long the pitch deck is, but the context must be straight to the point, spark interest, and show interested parties what monetary opportunities will come from your project. Don't be overwhelmed. You probably think it's hard to create, but it's not. Remember, you are the expert storyteller! You know how to capture an audience! Be confident! Stand on the data you have. By now, you know that people love your idea, you have tested outcomes, and you have perfected everything to a tee. It's also key to keep in mind that a Pitch Deck is simply a business plan without the meat and potatoes. As long as you never give away the ending, show the value of the project, and show you have long-term value, you will secure the people and the funds you need to complete your project.
If you made it this far, I've got your mind in the right place to focus on what matters.
A.) Words Matter
I don't care how good your project is; if you cannot articulate it, it's as good as dead. Power words, descriptive adjectives, and power verbs are what make projects sell. For instance, if a line in a script reads, "For the picnic, the baby cuddles with his favorite blue blanket". It's ok, but it doesn't spark interest. You're not dying to know what comes afterwards. It is simply a statement that shows some comfort towards a blue blanket. But what if you read instead, "For the picnic, the baby sat down and swallowed himself within the soft texture of the blanket, smelling the sealed-in perfume from his Grandmother, the blanket's creator". Now this feels different, right? This sentence is more powerful because it provides some context about the origins of the baby and the blanket. I can then talk about how the babies developed powers from this blanket, or I can take that concept anywhere I want. In a pitch deck, you always want to have sentences that are suspense builders. You want to quickly captivate the Reader with words that build the scene, opening the mind's eyes to the material you created. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THEM SEE WHAT YOU SEE.
Extra tip: Never write large paragraphs. If you lose the Reader by consuming time, then you've lost major resources, including money. Think about what you are saying in bullet points. The above sentence example is perfect to look at. What you are saying matters. Longer, colorful sentences that get to the point are what capture potential Directors, Investors, and Producers.
B.) Keep the Order of the Story First, then Get to the Business of the Business
Tell your story first. I find that when Writers go directly into business matters first, especially cost, the Reader is usually not interested in moving forward with the project. How can one understand expenses if they do not know what the expenses are for? For instance, there might be "chairs" listed as expenses, but is it for the staff, will it be used to set up the scene, to place around the lunch tables, etc? Tell your story first, so that the expenses make sense later. Usually, with a good project, you'll find you're way under budget, and the Reader will add their resources to enhance the quality of your project.
C.) SHOW THEM THE MONEY!!!
What does your project have to offer the Director, Investor, or Producer? How does your project elevate their brand and increase their revenue? Do you offer incentives when they invest their own money? This is about you pitching with the idea that you are not pitching a project for a project's sake, as so many do. You are pitching with purpose. You are showing the interested party that you have a Project that can birth positive, prosperous outcomes for everyone involved. Potential Partners find it very insulting when you ask for something, but do not include what they can get for helping you. They want to see the benefits of your project and assess whether it is worth joining.
Key tip: Always add in one or two sentences about future projects, so the interested parties can see long-term possibilities.
D.) Never give away key moments
Don't you just hate it when you see a really good trailer/ commercial for a movie, and when you see the movie, you realize everything was in the Trailer? Man, does it spoil those various moments of surprise and intrigue. I call it the spoiler before the spoiler. Take the weaker parts of your story and elevate them contextually. Remember, no meat and potatoes scenes within the Pitch Deck. This allows you to share your project without fear of it being stolen. For a secured partner, this is exciting. They see that you were clever enough to protect your project, but you exposed them to the jewels of your script that no one else has. You and the Secured Partner share in the secrets of the project, bonding you into the work from a positive place of trust and unity.
So that's it for the contextual concepts. In Part 3, we will get into the art of being visually appealing and the various methods used to make the Pitch Deck even more attractive.
If you need side-by-side assistance or you just want to make sure your pitch deck reflects the high standards of the industry, please contact the Stage 32 Success Team at success@stage32.com.
