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Exercises/Divergent Ideation/The Pitch
Ideation Warm-Up · Divergent Ideation

The Pitch

The Pitch is an ideation warm-up exercise for divergent ideation: it helps participants open up more possible ideas before choosing a direction.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25), Pairs, Small group (4-8), TriadsGROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Participation Architecture This divergent ideation exercise strengthens Participation Architecture, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Divide people into small groups, ideally pairs or triads. One group should take the role the VCs, while the others are ‘entrepreneurs’.
  2. A product or service is defined and agreed by the group.
  3. Individually, each group spends 10 minutes formulating their pitch to be presented to the VCs. They can write, draw and rehearse: the creation is really up to each group. Ideally they should be in separate rooms or breakout spaces while creating the pitches
  4. Towards the end of the preparation time, the VCs give groups a time-warning: ‘You have 2 minutes prep remaining’.
  5. Each group then presents their pitch - a time limit (3 minutes) is given for each presentation and the VCs can ask up to two questions each.
  6. It’s not essential, but to add a sense of competition, the VCs can decide which pitch is the winner at the end.
  7. . Individually, each group spends 10 minutes formulating their pitch to be presented to the VCs. They can write, draw and rehearse: the creation is really up to each group. Ideally they should be in separate rooms or breakout spaces while creating the pitches
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Individually, each group spends 10 minutes formulating their pitch to be presented to the VCs. They can write, draw and rehearse: the creation is really up to each group. Ideally they should be in separate rooms or breakout spaces while creating the pitches

Towards the end of the preparation time, the VCs give groups a time-warning: ‘You have 2 minutes prep remaining’.

Each group then presents their pitch - a time limit (3 minutes) is given for each presentation and the VCs can ask up to two questions each.

It’s not essential, but to add a sense of competition, the VCs can decide which pitch is the winner at the end.

. Individually, each group spends 10 minutes formulating their pitch to be presented to the VCs. They can write, draw and rehearse: the creation is really up to each group. Ideally they should be in separate rooms or breakout spaces while creating the pitches

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: The Pitch. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Individually, each group spends 10 minutes formulating their pitch to be presented to the VCs. They can write, draw and rehearse: the creation is really up to each group. Ideally they should be in separate rooms or breakout spaces while creating the pitches; Towards the end of the preparation time, the VCs give groups a time-warning: ‘You have 2 minutes prep remaining’.; Each group then presents their pitch - a time limit (3 minutes) is given for each presentation and the VCs can ask up to two questions each.; It’s not essential, but to add a sense of competition, the VCs can decide which pitch is the winner at the end.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Gamestorming; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Gamestorming.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with