Chris Fenning explains why your pitch needs a clear point: whether you want to persuade someone, shift direction, or prompt action. Use Joel Schwartzberg's "I believe that" test from Get to the Point. If you can say "I believe that" plus your claim and it makes a complete sentence, you have a clear point.
Chapters
How to pitch an idea. Tip number 1: Have a clear point. When you're pitching, you need to make it clear what the point of the pitch is. Are you trying to convince someone that, someone that your idea is the best? Are you trying to convince the company that they should change direction? Do you want to convince the audience to take action on your idea? Whatever it is that you are pitching, make sure you have a clear point and purpose for that presentation. How can you do this? Well, Joel Schwartzberg described a great method in his book Get to the Point, and it's called the I believe that test. Take the point that you want to make, put I believe that before it, and if it makes a complete sentence, you have a point, and that point is clear. There's more you can do to make it a compelling point, but if you use the I believe that test, you can have a clear point. So if you are pitching your idea, Make sure that you have a clear point.