Sharing your story is an important part of any change journey. A good story will resonate with your audience, engage their curiosity, and generate conversation.
There’s a lot of focus on “pitching” in the startup world, and a couple of the tools we’re about to talk about have “pitch” in the name.
I find it more helpful to think of it as sharing your story.
The goal of sharing your story in this context is generally to start a real conversation. A clear and compelling story will help attract customers, team members, and supporters.
The people you’re talking with or to – preferably not talking at – need just enough information to understand what you’re talking about, and not so much that they get overloaded and switch off.
This can be a tricky balance to find. There are normally so many points that we feel are really important to share, but if we share them all at once, we can lose the opportunity to continue the conversation.
I know I often get this wrong. Experimentation and practice are the keys to getting better at it.
Craft Your Story
So how do we craft an engaging and compelling story? Let’s cover some of the basics.
Start With Who
What we’re talking about here is communication design. Good design and good communication always start with the people. The who.
Who are we talking with? What do we know about them? What do they care about? How do they see the world? What’s on their mind right now?
The more we know about our audience and the more empathy we can build, the better our chances of crafting a message that matters to our audience.
The reality is, we often need to share our story without knowing the specific people we’re sharing with. This is often the case with websites, talking to a roomful of people, or even meeting someone for the first time and not knowing anything about them.
This means you probably have a few versions of your story. You can tailor your message and be more specific with some people, and you might communicate in more general terms with others. We need to meet our audience where they are.
A golden rule of design is when you try to design for everyone, you design for no one.
This applies to your story too. Wherever possible, it’s better to prepare your story for a specific audience, to be shared at specific times, through specific channels, and being mindful of the feedback loop and how the conversation can continue.
Your Message
What’s your message? This is where many people start, and it’s their primary focus when thinking about their story. What’s important to us though, might not be important to our audience. There needs to be a connection between what we want to share and what our audience is interested in and ready for.
This is why we started with who, our audience.
In the context of who we’re sharing with, we also need clarity on what we want to communicate and why.
What would you like them to think, feel, or do based on what you share? What do they need to know to achieve this? The answer to this is your core message.
It will take experimentation and practice to see what messages resonate with different audiences. It’s a process of constant iteration and refinement. You’ll also find that your audience may respond differently based on the timing of what you share and the channel you use. The when and how.
When & How?
Our timing can be everything. We can share the same message at different times and get a completely different response from the same person. We can’t always control the timing, but it’s something to consider when sharing our story and adapting based on what we learn.
How will you share your story? What are the different channels (or mediums or methods)? We’ll focus a lot on conversations, but also think about how you share your story in a digital context like websites and social media, in print, video, audio, and giving presentations to groups of people.
Marshall McLuhan famously said “the medium is the message”. How and when we share our story has a profound effect on how our message is perceived. When we’re crafting our story, it’s important that we design for the whole experience, not just the content or message.
Continue the Conversation
What’s our audience’s response to our story, and how do we continue the conversation with them? What do we want to happen next? What does the person we’re sharing with want to happen next?
When we share our story, there’s something we want people to know or do as a result. We need to provide a clear and compelling call to action – with a simple way to continue the conversation if they’re interested.
Your Gaddie Pitch
Now that we’ve covered some of the basics to consider when crafting our story, let’s put it into action. The Gaddie Pitch is a simple three-part story created by Antony Gaddie. It’s an elevator pitch that you want to be able to deliver in a conversational way in under one minute.
I often use this format in the programs I design and deliver as a way to share a brief and simple story, but what I’ve found even more valuable is it really helps you get clarity on the key points to share.
The format is simple and conversational. At least it will be with practice. There are four sentences:
1. You know how…?
Briefly outline the compelling problem you’re focused on with who experiences that problem. Ideally, the person you’re talking with engages at an emotional level and can relate to the problem because they personally experience it, or they at least know what you’re talking about and can understand why it’s a problem.
2. Well, what we do is…
Briefly outline what you do about this problem, with a focus on the benefit you help create for the people involved. Try not to get too detailed or technical here. The purpose of sharing this is to engage their curiosity and start a conversation. Resist the temptation to get all the points in at once.
3. In fact…
This is a compelling proof point that provides credibility. This will evolve as you progress. A key customer insight is often very powerful here.
4. Call to action…
This isn’t officially part of the Gaddie Pitch, but it’s worth having a simple and compelling ask or call to action, and include it when you feel it’s appropriate. People will often ask how they can help. This might be something as simple as helping you spread the word or asking for an introduction.
Example Gaddie Pitch
Here’s an example Gaddie Pitch for my book Solve Problems That Matter:
“You know when you have an idea you think will help solve a problem that really matters, but you’re busy, not sure how to make it happen, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed?
Well, Solve Problems That Matter is a 90-day program helping you take a human-centred and living systems approach to design, build, and launch your idea – and build momentum.
In fact, this book is based on my experience coaching thousands of founders, leaders, designers, and university students over the years – especially social enterprise founders and NFP leaders on our Dynamic4 Jetpack program since 2014.
It also draws on the project-based experiential leadership, design, and innovation programs I design and deliver… and the many social enterprise startups I’ve co-founded.”
Take Action: Your Gaddie Pitch
Now it’s your turn. Write your Gaddie Pitch using these four sentences:
- You know how…?
- Well what we do is…
- In fact…
- Call to action…
The next step is to practice it and refine it, based on the feedback and reaction you get from people. This is your first Gaddie Pitch, and it will evolve over time. I recommend focusing it on your current story and where you’re at today. It needs to be authentic and believable.
Keep testing and refining your Gaddie Pitch, and you’ll find a version that feels natural and resonates with your audience. As you test and refine it, here are some questions to reflect on…
- What have you found resonates?
- What makes people glaze over and lose interest, or feel confused?
- How has your call to action changed as you’ve progressed?
Your Pitch Deck
A pitch deck is a brief presentation that provides a concise overview of your idea. They’re a common way to share your story, but I find a lot of people place too much emphasis on pitch decks and often overinvest in them.
While it’s a format used to share your story, I find it can be a powerful tool to help you get clarity on the key points to share. This means synthesising your current thinking and evidence to create a cohesive and credible story.
Some recommendations:
- Think about it as a way to share your story. That means thinking about how you craft your story to be relevant and compelling for your target audience. The slides are better if they support your story rather than dominate the focus
- Keep your slides simple with plenty of white space. Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule of “a pitch should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points” is a good guide. The simple pitch deck template I use is aligned with his advice but with some changes I’ve found necessary to make the purpose and theory of change explicit
There’s a very standard format for startup pitch decks with a few minor variations. There are also some additional things I look for when hearing the story for a purpose-driven idea… and if there’s no desire to embed purpose in the business model and solution, it’s not a pitch I’m particularly interested in hearing.
The slides with some questions to think about to help work out your position and the story you’ll share:
Cover
Keep your cover simple and visually engaging.
Problem/Opportunity
What’s the compelling problem you’re focused on, and who experiences that problem?
A key customer insight here can really boost your credibility.
Value Proposition
What’s the value that you create?
This is often communicated as the pain you take away or the benefit you provide.
Purpose/Theory of Change
What’s your driving why for the organisation? What’s the positive future you’re working towards? How will this idea contribute to those social and environmental outcomes and impacts?
This isn’t included in traditional startup pitch decks, but these are key things I want to know about any idea I’m hearing about.
Solution/How it Works
How do you plan to solve the problem?
Ideally, this can be communicated visually and without much technical detail.
Market Opportunity
How big is the problem? Are there enough people willing to pay to do something about this problem? Who will pay?
This indicates if the market is big enough for the idea to be financially viable.
Competition
What are the alternative solutions for the problem you’re focused on? How do people solve the problem right now?
One of the worst things you can say is that you don’t have any competitors.
Business Model
How do you plan to make money? How do you deliver social and environmental value?
The focus of this slide is traditionally focused on making money, but I recommend focusing on the different types of value you create – your triple bottom line.
Team
Who are the people involved, and what roles do they play? Why is this a great team to make the idea happen?
Status & Traction
Where are you currently at on your journey? What progress have you made? What are your key achievements so far?
Financial Projections & Key Metrics
What’s your financial forecast over the next three years? What are your forecasted social and environmental outcomes? What are your other key metrics and targets?
The Ask & Use of Funds
This is an optional slide but relevant if you’re fundraising. How much money are you asking for? Anything else you’re asking for? How will you use the funds?
Contact Details/How to Get Involved
How does someone contact you?
Take Action: Your Pitch Deck
Let’s start your draft pitch deck. Download the free Dynamic4 Pitch Deck template and let’s put it in action. This template uses plain styling so you can add your own brand.
Start with what you have and iterate it as you get more answers. Depending on where you’re at in your journey, you won’t know the answer to some or most of these questions yet – and that’s ok.
The slides:
- Cover
- Problem/Opportunity
- Value Proposition
- Purpose/Theory of Change
- Solution/How it Works
- Market Opportunity
- Competition
- Business Model
- Team
- Status & Traction
- Financial Projections & Key Metrics
- The Ask & Use of Funds (optional slide if fundraising)
- Contact Details/How to Get Involved
Your first draft will probably be very empty or have some placeholder content. I recommend having a short version with your current story, and know that it will evolve over time.
Think of this as a way of crystalising your thinking and refining your story rather than trying to create the perfect pitch deck. As you test and refine it, here are some questions to reflect on…
- Have you used it to share your story?
- What questions does it raise for people?
- What part of the pitch deck do they tend to zoom in on?
- How has it evolved as you’ve progressed?
- Does it communicate a relevant and compelling story for your target audience?
Solve Problems That Matter
This is an excerpt from my book Solve Problems That Matter, where I go into a lot more detail on all of the things I’ve covered in this post… and plenty more.
It’s a playbook with actions and worksheets to help you take a human-centred design and living systems approach to design, build, and launch your idea. Ideas that customers love, make money, and do great things for people and our planet… all while increasing wellbeing.
Let’s Collaborate
We specialise in coaching, training, and working alongside leaders.
A key way we do this is by designing and delivering action learning experiences with masterclasses, workshops, innovation sprints, and leadership, design thinking & innovation programs.
These sessions build personal, team, and organisational capability to solve problems that matter with more:
- 🌿 Confidence to navigate complexity and solve problems that matter for your teams, customers, shareholders – and build momentum with more certainty and less risk while increasing your wellbeing
- ❤️ Clarity to empathically engage your stakeholders, make better decisions, and collaborate to create solutions that your teams and customers love, make money, and do great things for people and our planet
- 🎯 Purpose that drives progress on your goals and creates meaningful value that you’re proud of for all stakeholders – and build the relationships, workflows, rhythms, and habits for success
Ready to have fun collaborating to solve problems that matter?
