On the fence about taking Moonshot Initiative's How to Pitch Your Project course? Read these testimonials from past course participants.
This September, Moonshot Initiative is hosting its How to Pitch Your Project course for a small cohort of creatives. If you have a TV pilot or feature film screenplay (or even if you have a fleshed-out idea for your project), this course will help you talk about your project succinctly. More importantly, it will help you get others just as excited about your project as you are!
Moonshot Initiative co-founders Katrina Medoff and Tracy Sayre developed this course because they believe that every writer should have access to pitching resources and coaching. Their pitching knowledge comes from several years of running the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, in which they help fellows prepare and polish their verbal pitches before setting fellows up on one-on-one pitch meetings with HBO, Netflix, Starz, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Showtime, Warner Bros. Discovery, and many more. They have sat in on 180 of these pitch meetings, so they know the types of questions development execs ask and what really grabs an exec's attention.
This information is important for anyone who wants to be able to talk about their work, so Katrina and Tracy packed as much guidance and advice as possible into this three-week course.
"Katrina and Tracy bring their wealth of experience observing countless pitches to execs to this class. Finding new ways to share my passion for my project in a way that can get people excited about it was incredibly helpful — I've already put it to work getting key crew on board! The best thing about the course is the opportunity for peer to peer pitching. The scheduled practice is wonderful, forcing you not only to be ready, but to listen attentively to give helpful feedback. Because Mooshot Initiative attracts so many smart people, the classy was full of great creatives with original ideas who are eager to get great notes from Katrina and Tracy. It was awesome!"
— Julie Herlocker, 2023 How to Pitch Your Project participant
At the beginning of the course, participants receive information on crafting an elevator pitch, along with video examples of successful elevator pitches. As part of the first meetup, participants will have the opportunity to receive live feedback on their elevator pitches from Katrina and Tracy. Then, two past Moonshot Pilot Accelerator fellows will visit the course to give examples of full pitches.
Over the next week and a half, participants will craft their longer pitches using instructions provided by Moonshot. They'll also have two opportunities to be paired up with classmates to practice their pitches and flex their feedback muscles. Moonshot will provide guidance on both giving and receiving feedback.
Finally, in the last two sessions, Katrina and Tracy will provide feedback on participants' full pitches. This is your opportunity to not only receive personalized feedback on your own pitch, but also to view other pitches and critique sessions. Often, you'll learn just as much — if not more — from watching other go through the process as you do during your own feedback session!
Meanwhile, participants will receive written coursework going over topics like preparing for a general meeting, becoming an engaging speaker, researching who you're pitching to, and more.
"This course is useful and practical to go through the steps and have a chance to practice and grow in a safe and professional environment. Thank you!"
— Leah Patterson, 2023 How to Pitch Your Project participant
Many course participants have pitched before in some fashion but don't feel entirely confident in the process. Perhaps you've had to submit a pitch video for a competition, but you left feeling like you didn't present your work in the best light. Maybe you know how to structure a pitch, but you want to work on your speaking skills.
But many course participants haven't had any experience with pitching whatsoever, and that's totally OK! We'll take you through the process step by step and provide all the information you need, including a list of what to include in the pitch, do's and don'ts for pitching, and more. You don't need to have any background in pitching or public speaking to take this course!
"I would highly recommend the How to Pitch Your Project course from Moonshot Initiative for anyone who has little to no experience pitching. It's a great introductory course. They provide lots of worksheets and examples on well crafted pitches and give you live feedback. I was also able to network and meet some great peers who I look forward to connecting to in the future. The peer practice feedback was also great."
— Andrea Churchill, 2023 How to Pitch Your Project participant
Often, writers feel a pit in their stomach whenever they think about pitching or speaking about themselves and their work in public. But you don't have to feel that way! You can be confident, relaxed, and ready to answer any question about your project. After all, you're the number one expert on this material!
If you find yourself feeling negativity around the pitching process, this course could help you turn that around:
"The Moonshot Initiative Pitch Your Project course was a breakthrough that changed everything I thought I knew about pitching. I now feel capable and excited about sharing my work as a writer, and learned how to find the entry point for talking about my stories from a place of authenticity, in a way that will attract industry collaborators who are excited to be a part of my narrative."
— Elizabeth Dwyer, 2023 How to Pitch Your Project participant
Read more about Elizabeth Dwyer's experience in the course and advice for writers in this Q&A!
Register for the How to Pitch Your Project course!
Want to take your pitching skills to the next level? The next How to Pitch Your Project course runs from Sept. 4-25, 2024, with live virtual workshops on Sept. 9, 19, and 23, at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET. There are only 3 spots left in this cohort!
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