Paolo Braga

The art of pitching, in screenwriting and beyond

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy

The art of pitching extends to screenwriting at various levels. Firstly, naturally, in the
presentation phase of a script. Secondly, when a film scene depicts a character delivering a
sales pitch (Jerry Maguire/Tom Cruise in the homonymous film; Daniel Plainview/Daniel
Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood; Jim Joung/Ben Affleck in Boiler Room; Don Draper/Jon
Hamm in Mad Men). Then, there’s a third, more indirect level: business public speaking gurus
(Carmine Gallo; Nancy Duarte) who have recently incorporated screenplay concepts into their
lessons on selling a product or brand.

The goal of this paper is to highlight the common elements of pitching at these three levels.
If it’s true that a pitch presenter must be a skilled storyteller, what is the essential narrative
structure of a pitch?

I particularly rely on the analysis of film scenes to identify the common narrative pattern in
these types of speeches: a plot of rupture with the past and discovery of the new. The speaker
positions themselves as a trailblazer toward a different world, challenging the audience to
abandon the certainties of today for a better tomorrow. Their words aim to activate the
resources of imagination—envisioning the fruits of the suggested path—and courage—the
risk of leaving the known path.

We delve into the detailed structure of this narrative pattern, emphasizing the sequence of
characteristic beats. In particular, we highlight the importance of two fundamental beats. The
first is that of the “promise”, where the speaker illustrates their vision (the strength of the
product; in the case of pitching a story to a producer, the strength of the potential film). The
second characteristic beat is that of the “concession”: addressing the objections and
hesitations of the audience to dismantle them.

We conclude by focusing on the dramaturgical core of a pitch, which proposes a
transformation from mediocrity to excellence—from the ordinary self to the true self. This
sets it apart from other types of speeches, such as invective, pre-battle speeches, and
inspirational speeches.

Paolo Braga is Associate Professor at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan), where he
teaches Screenwriting, Semiotics and Journalism. At Università Cattolica he also teaches at
the Master in International Screenwriting and Production. He has published extensively on
the topics of the construction of empathy with characters and of US television series. The
rhetorical and persuasive dimensions of storytelling are his general research area, which he
has treated in several articles and books. Among his most recent publications are Words in
action. Forms and Techniques of Film Dialogue (Peter Lang, 2015) and Armando Fumagalli,
Cassandra Albani, Paolo Braga (Eds), Storia delle serie tv (volumes 1 and 2), Dino Audino,
Rome 2021.