10 Tips to Perfect Your PitchGeno Scala offers pitching advice to aspiring screenwriters. Follow this advice to best prepare for opportunities to pitch

your work to the people who can change your life.

Prepare a short bio about yourself.Avoid anything that may be too controversial, and make it relevant to your career and goals.

Prepare bullet points, with key phrases.Do not read from your list. Practice so that you sound rehearsed, but not like you are reciting monotonously.

Begin with the necessities.Include your title, logline, genre, time setting, and theme.

Stick to the critical plot points.Describe the main characters, set up the story from your Act One, describe the “impossible challenge” your character faces from the end of Act Two, and provide a specific ending to the story.

Do not overstep.Refrain from mentioning any “dream casting” or comparing your story to another movie (unless asked).

Think “Big Picture.”Do not allow yourself to get bogged down by the details.

Concentrate on “trailer” scenes.Which scenes in your work define the soul of the story? What does someone need to know to understand it?

Stay positive.Keep a smile on your face. Smiles can be “heard” through telephone pitches as well.

Be confident.You’re telling YOUR story that THEY have already expressed an interest in.