writing pitches

paragraphs

two basic types

bottom-upfrom illustration to analysisfrom general to specificfor counter-intuitive orcontroversial issues,as a hook to create interesttop-down from analysis to illustrationwriting like an expert

bottom-up: from general to specific

Disruptive innovation can take many forms. As digitalization became more widespread, both innovations in procedures and products proved disruptive. However, from a market disruption point of view, innovations in business models cause the biggest seismic shifts.

general startdisruptive innovationspecific enddisruptive business model

bottom-up: from illustration to analysis

Procter&Gamble launched several products that were not developed inhouse but rather resulted from a crowdsourcing effort. P&G label this type of products 'proudly developed elsewhere'. The trend of open innovation also pays off for diversified multinationals, such as FMCG producers.

startillustrationendanalysis

top-down

The trend of open innovation also pays off for diversified multinationals, such as FMCG producers. Procter&Gamble launched several products that were not developed inhouse but rather resulted from a crowdsourcing effort. P&G label this type of products 'proudly developed elsewhere'.

startanalysisendillustration

one paragraph = one idea

good paragraphs focus on a single idea

a factan opiniona descriptiona causal relationshipa sequence of events

bad example

Innovation is the driver of the economy. Without innovation people lose their jobs. So internal innovation deserves strategic attention. Customers will benefit largely from our innovation efforts and will help us sustain our market position.

bad example

Innovation is the driver of the economy. Without innovation people lose their jobs. So internal innovation deserves strategic attention. Customers will benefit largely from our innovation efforts and will help us sustain our market position.

too many ideaseconomic contextstakeholder impact: employeeslink strategy - operationsstakeholder impact: customerslink strategy marketposition

improved example

Innovation should be central to our strategy. Not only does innovation impact our daily operations; it also profoundly changes the way in which we work with our direct stakeholders, such as investors, customers and employees. This report outlines these various aspects to show how innovation impacts all aspects of our activities and consequently why innovation should be at the heart of our strategic decisions-making process.

improved example

Innovation should be central to our strategy. Not only does innovation impact our daily operations; [] This report outlines these various aspects to show how innovation impacts all aspects of our activities and [...]

single focus: link innovation - strategyother ideas are signalled but explicitly delayed until later in the text

improved example

Innovation should be central to our strategy. Not only does innovation impact our daily operations; [] This report outlines these various aspects to show how innovation impacts all aspects of our activities and [...]

single focus: link innovation - strategyother ideas are signalled but explicitly delayed until later in the text

topic sentence

Innovation should be central to our strategy. Not only does innovation impact our daily operations; it also profoundly changes the way in which we work with our direct stakeholders, such as investors, customers and employees. This report outlines these various aspects to show how [...]

a topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph

closing sentence

Innovation should be central to our strategy. Not only does innovation impact our daily operations; [] and consequently why innovation should be at the heart of our strategic decisions-making process.

closing sentences can repeat the main idea and sometimes signal a link to a next idea, which is developed in the next paragraph

text scanning using topic sentences

Our team has identified a flaw in the brake system, which could have serious security implications. []

Extensive tests have shown that replacing the faulty component by a later generation component would greatly reduce the risk of []

We recommend replacing the faulty part by [...]

category terms in topic sentences

a category term covers a series of elements

staff, raw materials, fundsresourcesissuing bonds, borrowingdebt financingrun-to-market, niche focusstrategy

category terms are analytical by nature

as such they are useful for topic sentences

Component providers have seen their bargaining power decrease due to...

whose story?

one idea can be looked at from various angelsgiving all angles at once dilutes the messageone story per paragraph by using the 'angle' as the grammatical subject of the sentences in the paragraph

whose story?

example

open innovation can be viewed in terms of:intellectual property - licensingacquisition of start-upsnew hiring policies for R&D staff...

whose story?

the subject of the sentence mirrors the angle= the answer to 'whose story do I tell?'

'Dormant' patents can be leveraged through licensing deals. This IP can....

Acquiring university start-ups can provide useful IP in the form of patents. In addition, the founding researchers have essential knowhow...

Engineers coming into the company should have the communication abilities to network. They should be able to initiate contact and...

flow in paragraphs

zigzag: reads like a storybio: reads as a wikipedia bio or definition of somethingmost paragraphs switch between both forms

flow in a zigzag paragraph

A form of open innovation is crowdsourcing. In a crowdsourcing approach, a company tries to leverage the knowhow of outsiders. These outsiders far outnumber internal R&D staff and provide original ideas. Some of these ideas are offered free of charge, while others come from idea vendors, who charge...

flow in a zigzag paragraph

A form of open innovation is crowdsourcing. In a crowdsourcing approach, a company tries to leverage the knowhow of outsiders. These outsiders far outnumber internal R&D staff and provide original ideas. Some of these ideas are offered free of charge, while others come from idea vendors, who charge...

The element that is mentioned at the end of the previous sentence acts as the subject or start of the next sentence.'this' and 'these' increase this effect.

flow in a zigzag paragraph

A form of open innovation is crowdsourcing. In a crowdsourcing approach, a company tries to leverage the knowhow of outsiders. These outsiders far outnumber internal R&D staff and provide original ideas. Some of these ideas are offered free of charge, while others come from idea vendors, who charge...

zigzag and passives

A form of open innovation is crowdsourcing. In a crowdsourcing approach, a company tries to leverage the knowhow of outsiders. These outsiders far outnumber internal R&D staff and provide original ideas. Some of these ideas are offered free of charge, while others are sold by idea vendors, who...

to maintain a zigzag pattern, passive structures are sometimes used

zigzag and end weight

The board of StatenOil took swift action to look for a new leader. As a direct result of the appointment of Eleanor Gleeson as CEO of the heavy-hit oil giant, sales increased. Stock markets reacted positively and...

opening a sentence with a long start is possible, when it takes up a notion mentioned in the previous sentence

zigzag and end weight

starting with long part is possible, when it takes up a notion mentioned in the previous sentence

The board of StatenOil took swift action to look for a new leader. As a direct result of the appointment of Eleanor Gleeson as CEO of the heavy-hit oil giant, sales increased. Stock markets reacted positively and...

flow in a bio paragraph

Crowdsourcing is a form of ideation that relies on outside input. Crowdsourcing as a concept is linked to open innovation. It is enabled by the rise of the internet, both through the technical aspect of the web, but equally by the culture of sharing. The crowd that is targeted to act as a source of ideas can be general or targeted...

flow in a bio paragraph

Crowdsourcing is a form of ideation that relies on outside input. Crowdsourcing as a concept is linked to open innovation. It is enabled by the rise of the internet, both through the technical aspect of the web, but equally by the culture of sharing. The crowd that is targeted to act as a source of ideas can be general or targeted...

The element that is focused on in the paragraph acts as (most of) the subjects(s) in the paragraph

flow in a bio paragraph

Crowdsourcing is a form of ideation that relies on outside input. Crowdsourcing as concept is linked to open innovation. It is enabled by the rise of the internet, both through the technical asect of the web, but equally by the culture of sharing. The crowd that is targeted to act as a source of ideas can be general or targeted...

flow through word fields

Various milestones chart our progress in this innovation project. In a first phase, our R&D staff finetune the prototype and inform our legal section, who co-prepare the patent application. At the same time, we conduct preliminary market studies. In a second phase, we feed the market input to the R&D team to settle on a product that is market-ready and sit together with the purchasing departement to...

words that belong together semantically help create cohesion and flow

flow through word fields

Various milestones chart our progress in this innovation project. In a first phase, our R&D staff finetune the prototype and inform our legal section, who co-prepare the patent application. At the same time, we conduct preliminary market studies. In a second phase, we feed the market input to the R&D team to settle on a product that is market-ready and sit together with the purchasing departement to...

words that belong together semantically help create cohesion and flow

Writing pitches is part of a two-day workshop on Innovation Communication, which includes key communication events such as:

conducting brainstorm sessions & follow-upgiving briefingssteering project meetingspitching for resourcespersuasive Q&A sessionswriting a project plan

More information on the workshop programme

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