Pitch Training in Berlin for Programmes & Teams

Why pitch training?

Your teams have strong ideas, and in the moment that counts they fall on deaf ears. Demo day, investor pitch, or the application in front of a review panel: on paper the project convinces, but the presentation stays flat. You watch good ideas fail on the wrong words.

The reason is rarely the idea itself. It is the way it gets across. People who present technology, research or a new business model to funders are focused on the substance and know the project inside out, but have usually never learned to bring that knowledge across clearly, in a structure, and to the point. The good news: pitching is a craft, not a talent. A craft can be learned.

More than one appearance is at stake. It is funding decisions, investment and the reputation of your programme. A botched pitch does not only cost that round, it costs chances that do not come back in the same form. For an accelerator programme, demo day is the shop window. For a research institution, the pitch decides on funding.

That is where Berlin Speaking comes in. We prepare your teams and researchers for the pitch situations they actually face: elevator pitch, investor pitch, grant and funding pitch. With our own background in science and technology, we know how to make complex things simple without flattening them. We work on story, structure, delivery and confident answers in the Q&A, one to one or as a group, in German or English.

The result is participants who not only have the idea but can stand behind it: confident on stage, clear in the message, convincing in front of exactly the people who decide. A pitch that lands when it counts.

Who we run pitch trainings for

Accelerator and incubator programmes. You are taking a cohort through to demo day? We get your startups into shape from the first idea to the stage, with a clear story, confident delivery and a pitch that convinces investors.

Universities and research institutions. Your researchers pitch their projects to funders, foundations, review panels or investors? We translate complex research into a pitch that non-specialists understand and that releases funding.

Companies and teams. Sales, product and founding teams who have to convince internally as well as externally. From the client meeting to the board presentation, we give your project the momentum it deserves.

Pitch formats we train

Investor and demo day pitch – convincing when capital is at stake
Grant and funding pitch – research and funding applications that convince the people holding the budget
Elevator pitch – to the point in 60 seconds
Sales and client pitch – proposals that stick
Project and research pitch – complex content delivered clearly

What your participants learn

A clear story with a thread that stays in the mind
Making complex things simple without flattening them
Slides that support instead of distract
Confident delivery and convincing body language
Getting through the Q&A, including critical questions from investors or reviewers
Moving the audience to act straight away
A framework to pitch anything at short notice
Finding some enjoyment in pitching

One to one or as a group

We train whole cohorts just as well as single teams or individuals:

In-house group seminar for your programme or your cohort -> group seminars
One-to-one coaching for single teams or individuals → individual training

In German or English, on site across Europe, online or hybrid.

Why Berlin Speaking

We come from science and technology ourselves and know how to get complex content across so that it convinces. That makes us a fitting partner for accelerators, universities and research institutions: we understand the startup stage as well as the language of funders and reviewers. In the middle of Berlin's startup and science scene, bilingual and close to practice.

How we work together

First call, by phone or video. We clarify your goals, your participants and the context.
A concept built for you. We cut the training to fit your programme and your participants.
Training with a lot of practice. Short inputs, intensive practice, individual feedback.
Ready to go. Your participants walk into their real pitch prepared.

Get your participants ready for the pitch that counts. Ask for a pitch training, with no obligation. We will get back to you by phone.

Previous projects

Startup Bootcamp Digital Health

During the 3-month accelerator program for digital health startups, I closely accompanied the founders and prepared them for investment pitches to investors and industry experts.

Philips

In order to get innovative projects approved by management, internal teams have learned to present their concepts convincingly.

Falling Walls Engage

Every year, 20 of the world's best science communicators come to Berlin to present their projects to an international audience at the Falling Walls Conference. Since 2018 I have been preparing them to bring their engagement projects to the stage. You can see the winners here.

Frequently asked questions

How many participants does a pitch training suit?
From one-to-one coaching to a whole cohort. For groups and programmes we run in-house seminars, for single founders or researchers intensive 1:1 coaching. The combination often brings the best results: a group training where everyone explores the fundamentals, then individual sessions on the content of the specific pitch.

Do you train grant and funding pitches, not only investor pitches?
Yes. For universities and research institutions in particular, we prepare researchers to present their projects to funders, foundations and review panels. We use the same craft that counts on the investor stage, adapted to the audience in the room.

Is storytelling part of the training?
‍Yes, and a central part. A good pitch is a story, not a list of facts. We show your participants how to build a connection with the audience through narrative, and how to tell their message so that it stays.

Do you adapt the pitch to different audiences?
‍That is the core of it. An investor pitch sounds different from a funding pitch in front of a review panel, or a presentation to the board. We train your participants to adapt their message to whoever is in the room: investors, clients, executives or funders.

In German or English?
Both. We train bilingually, which is practical for international cohorts and research teams.

Online, on site or hybrid?
Whatever fits: on site in Berlin and across Europe, online or hybrid.

What does a pitch training cost?
‍It depends on format, group size and scope. Tell us in the first call what you need and you get a fitting offer, with no obligation.

Pitch Training from Berlin