Story for Pitch Decks is for anyone who has to pitch ideas, including screenwriters, documentary makers, and those working in development for film or TV.

The workshop is suitable if you:

• Want to craft a compelling pitch that prompts industry insiders to ask to see your work
• Have found it tough to get responses from enquiry emails
• Have an MA in TV, Film or Writing and would like to gain practical industry-level skills
• Know you need to learn to make visual decks, but don’t know how
• Want to discover why your pitches aren’t hitting home – and how to fix them
• Want to learn the underlying framework behind successful pitches, and how to apply it
• Enjoy the discipline of deadlines and peer feedback
• Want to join a friendly and supportive small group of learners
• Can dedicate 2 days to the learning

This professional training allows you to:

• Take your pitching skills to a new level and learn how to look at your story in a more effective visual way
• Move forward with a template that can be applied to all your future ideas
• Refresh your story skills, and ways to use the principles of narrative to explain your idea to others
• Upskill your use of PowerPoint (or your choice of equivalent, such as Photoshop or Keynote)
• Distill your thoughts, and exert greater control over the drama of your pitch
• Gain greater understanding of industry expectations and processes
• Clearly identify and pursue your potential
• Develop the professional skills required in pitching (eg discipline, attention to detail, ability to work to deadlines)
• Increase your professionalism in working with others
• Practise giving effective feedback and receiving critical notes
• Network with others in the industry, and with the tutor team and special guests
• Build greater independence, autonomy and critical judgment as you self-direct, self-manage and realise your final pitch to the course brief.

Workshop 1 (on Zoom) – Discover the blueprint pitch-deck structure that works for any story idea, then learn how to build it using PowerPoint or your preferred equivalent (Photoshop, Keynote etc.).

From the ‘must includes’ to the ‘don’t do’s’, we’ll guide you through the process with masses of practical tips and exercises to get you exploring and making alongside a peer group of creatives all looking to develop their skillsets.

After the first workshop, apply the template to your story idea in your own time, with support from your peers.

Workshop 2 (on Zoom) – Pitch your deck to your tutor for incisive feedback to hone your words and images – and learn new tips and tricks.

Join our alumni

After your course, you can join our online alumni community where you’ll meet our growing network of past students. You’ll be able to.

• Rejoin your classmates in a private forum
• Continue to access an archived version of your course materials
• Meet alumni from other courses and share work for feedback
• Join discussions about screenwriting, script editing and the industry
• Attend live chats with guest writers and industry folk

Mentoring and one-to-one feedback

The John Yorke Story tutor team offer mentoring, script reads and reports. We are happy to quote by job or script, or to arrange a longer mentoring scheme as you work on a specific story idea. We’ll create a package to suit you, so for more information please email [email protected]

Taking things further

If you’d like to take another John Yorke Story course, we’ll give you a discount. Please get in touch for more details.