Pitching, Persuasion and Communication Skills

Introduction

Procuring capital, acquiring partners, securing sponsors, recruiting employees, engaging customers – all require the presentation an idea to stimulate interest. As an entrepreneur you need to pitch yourself, your business, your idea to a range of audiences. Mastering the pitch is a necessary competence for all entrepreneurs. You must have your pitches ready at a moment’s notice because you never know when opportunity may present itself, not all pitch opportunities are planned events and not every pitch is suitable for all audiences. This course aims, therefore, to develop essential communication skills for designing and delivering effective business pitches. Students will draw upon communication theory, but this is a hands-on course, and the emphasis is upon the application of theory to relevant pitch situations.  

Course content

Part 1. Communication and critical thinking as it relates to pitching, persuasion and communication skills.

Part 2. Pitching rhetoric: Ethos, logos, pathos, speech analysis, storytelling, dialogue as ethical communication.

Part 3. Visuals, voice and body.

Part 4. Case study: Analysis, persuasion skills, audience focus.