The key components of a project proposal are an introduction to your company, an overview of a problem you can solve for your potential client, a compelling solution to the problem you outline (with goals, steps, and a timeline), and social proof to show off your expertise.
The one sentence pitch
“My company, [name of the company], is developing [a defined offering] to help [a defined audience] [solve a problem] with [secret sauce].”
Pitch words also communicate more information than stressed words. In the following sentences, the words "like" and "where's" are stressed words. The words "water" and "baby" are stressed words and pitch words. I'd like some water.
For example, if you strum the thinnest string on a guitar or strike a note to the far right of a piano keyboard, you will hear a relatively high pitch. If you strum the thickest guitar string or play the key farthest to the left on a piano keyboard, you will hear a relatively low pitch.
She pitched the stone into the river. The ball pitched (= landed) short. The bike hit a rut and I was pitched (forward) onto the road. The ship pitched up and down/from side to side in the rough seas.
By nature, pitching means that you are aiming to convince a particular audience of something. If you've been given criteria outlining expectations and providing guidelines, these will give you a good idea of what your audience is looking for.
Though the exact content included in a pitch depends on what kind of industry you work in, most pitches include: An introduction that describes your story, conflict and point of view. An explanation of what differentiates your story from others and makes it important or interesting. An expected deadline for the piece.
Your pitch should be a short recap of who you are and what you do. You need to be persuasive. Even though it's a short pitch, your elevator speech should be compelling enough to spark the listener's interest in your idea, organization, or background. Share your skills.
The purpose of the three sentence pitch is to communicate who you are, what you do, and what you want in three sentences. There are many fancy ways to slice this. For example, you can include a catchy intro, articulate your unique value proposition, and exchange business cards to follow up with a call.
: the property of a sound and especially a musical tone that is determined by the frequency of the waves producing it : highness or lowness of sound.
There are only seven note names (A, B, C, D, E, F, G), and each line or space on a staff will correspond with one of those note names. To get all twelve pitches using only the seven note names, we allow any of these notes to be sharp, flat, or natural.
Blowing a whistle produces a high pitch sound while hitting a drum produces a low pitch sound. You will realize that a violin produces a high pitch sound, while human heartbeat has a low pitch sound. In a similar way, chirping of birds is a high pitch sound, while a lion's roar is a low pitch sound.
That's why it's so important to have a solid opening sentence and then get to the point. You'll hear different opinions about how long your pitch should be, but most editors agree that around 500 words or less is ideal.
You want your pitch itself to be less than 4 minutes in duration, certainly less than 5. Remember, some pitch decks are read rather than presented, so while you can easily time your own presentation, reading speed is specific to the individual.
A good hook might also be a question or a claim—anything that will elicit an emotional response from a reader. Think about it this way: a good opening sentence is the thing you don't think you can say, but you still want to say. Like, “This book will change your life.”