The handouts · Page 69
A5: The pitch card
[GIVE THIS TO THE ROOM · at 15:15, with the 15-minute prep]
YOUR TEN MINUTES
Five minutes yours, five minutes questions. Prep in fifteen: pick the hook (3 min), run the demo once (5), write the one ask and split speaking parts (4), say the opening line out loud twice (3).
1. The user and the brief · 1 min. Open with what a real user did an hour ago, not with "hi, we're team two". If your first line could open any team's pitch, it is not a hook yet.
2. The demo · 2 min. Show, don't describe. One path, the click that proves it. Say what is different, not how it works. If a twelve-year-old would not follow it, simplify it.
3. The test · 1 min. One thing that worked, one that did not, as behaviour: "we assumed X, and she did Y." A dead assumption reported honestly scores better than a suspiciously perfect run.
4. The ask · 30 sec. End on it, do not trail off: "We want the go: two weeks to fix the saved-looks flow and test again."
Before you stand up: three slow breaths, four in, six out. Stand tall. Shake out your hands. Pause one beat before your first line.
If you stumble: breathe once, sip water, smile, continue. Nobody has your script. They cannot see the mistake, only your reaction.
If the demo dies: screenshot, and narrate the one click that proves it. Calm recovery beats flawless demo.
In Q&A: questions are appetite, not attack. Keep depth out of the pitch and bring it all out here.