Pitching

An important part of advising is being able to convey your advice orally in a convincing way. This includes presentation skills such as clear articulation, using a logical story structure, connecting with your audience, and applying persuasion techniques. In the business world, pitching is essential: you must be able to "sell" your digital solution concept, process improvement ideas, or technical proposals briefly and powerfully to executives, stakeholders, or potential clients.

The ability to convey ideas is essential to create support – after all, good technical advice has little effect if you can't convince business stakeholders. Strong presentation skills help you "get the organization on board" and get digital transformation initiatives approved and funded.

Starting Points

• How to Pitch a Business Idea (Harvard Business Review)
• The Art of the Elevator Pitch (Forbes)

Key Points

• Pay attention to speaking pace, volume, and intonation to maintain attention, especially when explaining complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Support your story with business examples, ROI calculations, or analogies that convince the listener of the business value of your proposed solution.
• Pay attention to your body language and posture during presentation (eye contact, open posture, exuding confidence).
• Gauge your audience's reaction and respond to it, being ready to adjust technical depth based on audience understanding.