[AI-assisted for speed.]
Why this Model Exists
I wrote this about 15 years ago on a flight back from San Francisco. I wanted to see if I could come up with a single narrative that could sell anything to anyone.
People respond to structure before they absorb content. They decide whether something feels true long before they decide whether it is true. Strong structure gives ideas coherence and balance—it makes them sound complete.
OnePitch teaches that structure. It shows how to organize a conversation so that meaning builds, emotion aligns, and commitment becomes the natural conclusion.
How to Use It
You’ll almost never deliver OnePitch as a speech. It’s a map, not a monologue.
Use it fluidly. In a one-to-many setting, follow it from start to finish. In a one-to-one, adapt as you go—shaping the exchange in response to curiosity, energy, and tone.
Over time, the person you’re speaking with should experience the whole story: who you are, why this moment matters, and what it will take to act. You’re not performing for them; you’re building something together.
That’s especially true in the middle of the structure—the section on challenge and opportunity. When they begin contributing ideas or reframing what’s at stake, they’re no longer an audience. They’ve joined the work.
Before a meeting, decide which parts to emphasize. During the conversation, listen for cues that show where to go next. Afterward, note which elements landed and which still need to. Across interactions, you’ll complete the full arc. Mastery lies in using the framework to keep every exchange moving toward clarity and action.
What’s Inside
OnePitch includes everything that would normally appear in a plan—identity, purpose, analysis, strategy, requirements, and outcomes—but arranges those elements into a single story. Because it unfolds as an arc rather than a reference document, it persuades. It feels complete. Each idea leads naturally to the next.
The framework unfolds in three movements:
The first, Identity, establishes who you are, what you do, and why you’re good at it.
The second, Argument, presents the challenge and opportunity, what happens if you succeed, and what that success means for everyone involved.
The third, Ask, turns agreement into motion—showing that the work is underway, recognizing that those gathered around it hold what’s needed to finish it, and outlining what begins when they say yes.
When the parts progress in sequence, the conversation feels inevitable. The form itself carries the listener forward.
Part I — Identity.
Step 1 — This is who we are.
Define the structure.
Begin with the basics. State your organizational form, size, and leadership. Are you a nonprofit, cooperative, or social enterprise? How many staff? What scale do you operate at? What experience or perspective shapes your work? These details orient the listener—they answer “who’s speaking.”
Explain the origin.
When were you founded, and why are you built this way? What conditions or insights led to this structure? Describe how your design reflects your purpose—how the organization’s shape fits the challenge it was created to address.
Describe the community.
Situate yourself in the wider ecosystem. What movement or network are you part of? Who benefits from the work? What values connect the people involved? The link between community and form grounds legitimacy.
Set tone and scope.
Keep it short, factual, and unembellished. Enough for credibility; never enough for boredom. This is orientation, not self-promotion. Once that’s clear, move to what you actually do.
Step 2 — This is what we do.
Outline the specific work.
Describe the programs, services, or tools you operate and what they accomplish. Use direct, concrete language. Avoid institutional phrasing. Make the work legible: what happens, who participates, what changes.
State the purpose.
What principle drives the work? What are you trying to improve or protect? What outcome would make the effort worthwhile? These lines connect action to intent and show what success looks like in moral or practical terms.
Locate the work in its field.
Every organization sits inside a larger system. Identify the field you operate in, the frontier that defines progress there, and how your work contributes to it. Name the problem you address and the better condition you’re working toward.
Show the scale.
Illustrate the reach of the effort: how many people are involved, who benefits, and in what ways. Use examples that are grounded enough to feel real yet broad enough to convey scope.
Keep it alive.
Describe the work as active and evolving—already happening, but open to input and refinement. This is what lets the analysis that follows rest on a shared, current understanding of the work itself.
Step 3 — And we’re good at it.
Prove worth and credibility.
You must show that you’re worth the listener’s time and attention. Provide evidence that the work delivers results.
Offer proof.
Highlight one or two achievements—a result, a partnership, an impact you can quantify. Start with internal proof, then cite external recognition. Using outside validation—awards, coverage, endorsements—is more effective than self-evaluation. The judgment already exists; you’re simply acknowledging it.
Keep the tone grounded.
Be factual and restrained. Two or three strong examples suffice. The goal is to demonstrate reliability and competence, not performance.
Bridge to analysis.
Once credibility is established, pivot toward the shared problem and the opportunity within it.
Part II — Argument
Step 4 — We have a challenge, born of opportunity.
The Challenge / Opportunity Construct turns description into collaboration. It’s where you and the listener begin thinking together—testing ideas, examining conditions, and exploring what might happen if the right mix of timing, talent, and resources align.
The construct has five parts: The Unassailable Truth, The Fork in the Road, The Emerging Opportunity, The Theory of Change, and The 1-2-3.
The Unassailable Truth
Define the foundation.
The unassailable truth is the premise everything rests on—the principle that gives the work meaning and direction, the condition that should be true in the world and the reason the work exists.
Find and name it.
Ask yourself why you’ve made this your life’s work. Strip away logistics until you reach the belief that gives the effort coherence. When stated plainly, it should sound self-evident—something no reasonable person could dispute.
For example: People should have agency over their own lives.
That’s an unassailable truth: short, moral, and clear enough to serve as a foundation for everything that follows.
Recognize the signal.
When you say it aloud, people pause. It’s not persuasion—it’s recognition. You’ve articulated the shared baseline.
Return to it.
This truth is what the work continually returns to. It gives the challenge significance and the opportunity urgency.
The Fork in the Road
Frame the tension.
Show how the unassailable truth is being tested. The world can move in two directions: what happens if we act, and what happens if we don’t.
Clarify the kind of work.
In some contexts, you’re defending existing good; in others, building new good. Know which you’re describing—it sets the emotional tone.
Think in terms of a matrix.
Picture a grid as you prepare. The columns are good and bad. The rows are levels of experience—individual, family, community, city, country, society. Each cell represents what life feels like under each condition.
Use those intersections as narrative prompts. Describe the stakes through short, vivid examples of lived experience. How does this difference ripple through people and systems?
Keep it human.
Avoid numbers. Statistics flatten empathy. Use sensory detail to make stakes legible at a human level.
Adjust for context.
In groups, state both paths outright. In one-on-one settings, invite the listener to fill in the blanks. Co-articulation deepens investment.
Establish the stakes.
This section defines what’s in play—what stands to be lost or gained depending on which direction the world moves.
The Emerging Opportunity
Show why progress is possible now.
Once the stakes are clear, explain what’s changed that makes action viable. These problems are old; what’s new is that something external has shifted, changing the odds in favor of progress.
Identify the shift.
Pinpoint that change—the factor that alters the terrain and makes it possible to assert good over bad.
Describe the sources of change.
Technology matures. Research reframes what’s possible. A generation comes of age. A taboo collapses. A public mood turns. A movement gains legitimacy. A political or regulatory window opens. A crisis forces clarity. Sometimes the right people and resources finally converge.
Keep it grounded.
The opportunity must be observable and external. Don’t fake urgency or center your calendar. You can shape the moment, but not invent it.
Make it explicit.
Explain why timing matters and how it changes what’s possible. Help the listener see that the chance for meaningful progress exists now in a way it didn’t before.
The Theory of Change
Shift from recognition to realization.
This step turns understanding into strategy—not the plan itself, but the reasoning behind it. A theory of change explains how the opportunity can be realized. It’s the analytical bridge between what’s true about the world and what could be changed within it.
Find the mechanism.
Identify how conditions could move: the levers, coalitions, audiences, or tools that convert potential into pressure. A lever to pull, a domino to tip, a wave to ride—anything that creates motion.
Make the leap.
Every theory of change includes a reframe—a new way of seeing that makes action possible. This is where analysis meets imagination, revealing the angle others might have missed.
Map the logic.
Trace how one thing leads to another. The listener should see causality, not certainty—how aligned forces can realistically produce change.
Ground it in power.
Every theory of change sits on a theory of power: an understanding of how influence moves through your field. It should be visible that you know where leverage lives and how to reach it.
Define scope.
A sound theory of change clarifies boundaries—what belongs within the opportunity and what doesn’t—and shows where others can connect.
Collaborate.
Invite the listener to test and refine the reasoning. Shared analysis creates shared authorship.
Recognize success.
You’ll know this step has landed when they begin picturing the logic themselves. Belief arises not from persuasion but from comprehension.
The 1-2-3
Answer the “what now” moment.
The theory of change makes people lean in and ask: How would that work? What would it take? What would it look like? The 1-2-3 is the answer. It translates analysis into structure—the visible shape of what will happen next.
Move from logic to action.
Where the theory of change reveals how the opportunity can be realized, the 1-2-3 shows how that realization will unfold in practice. It gives the work coherence and sequence.
Invite motion.
A strong 1-2-3 always ends in participation. Once it’s on the table, the question shifts from what if to who’s in.
For detailed guidance on how to design a 1-2-3, see The 1-2-3 Structure: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Use It
Step 5 — If we seize it, magic happens.
Show the impact of success.
This step explains what happens when the 1-2-3 works—the concrete difference the plan makes for the community or system you serve.
Describe outputs and outcomes.
Identify what the plan delivers: tools built, structures created, policies enacted, norms shifted. Pair those outputs with outcomes—how life, access, or power changes as a result.
Name what endures.
Explain what remains after implementation: capacity, infrastructure, relationships, practices that continue to deliver benefit.
Connect results to continuity.
Show how today’s success establishes the foundation for future progress—how this phase of work positions you for the next.
Keep tone factual.
Talk about what’s produced, improved, and set in motion. Avoid idealism. The goal is to demonstrate consequence and set up the next conversation about shared resources.
Step 6 — Which benefits us all.
Focus on the people doing the work.
This section turns inward—from the external community to the partners, funders, and institutions making it happen. Show how success advances their strategic goals and validates their participation.
Map the mutual benefit.
Clarify what each party gains: strategic positioning, credibility, learning, legitimacy, relationships, or influence. Participation isn’t charity; it’s alignment.
Show lasting advantage.
Describe the assets that remain after this phase—networks, data, infrastructure, or models that strengthen everyone involved.
Tie benefit to identity.
People commit more deeply when the work reflects who they are or aim to be. Show how collaboration lets each actor live their stated values in practice.
Keep it analytical.
Avoid flattery. Explain fit: why this effort matches their mission and how it enhances their strengths.
End on forward alignment.
Mutual benefit creates durability. Success here strengthens everyone’s position for what comes next.
Part III — Ask
Step 7 — We’re almost there.
Show that progress is real.
Demonstrate traction. Describe what’s underway—pilots, partnerships, early outcomes. You’re inviting people into momentum, not starting from zero.
Make progress visible.
Evidence of movement reduces perceived risk. When people see traction, they feel confident joining.
Position the listener inside the motion.
Rather than emphasizing what’s missing, highlight that their involvement amplifies the potential already coming together.
Keep tone steady.
Use factual, peer-based language: “Here’s what’s happening and what comes next.” The impression should be maturity and competence.
Bridge forward.
Conclude with readiness: “The structure is in place; now it’s about bringing the right people and resources together.”
Step 8 — Together we have what it takes
Reframe the ask.
In most pitches, this is where someone would say, “Here’s what we need from you.” Instead, turn that moment into collective action. Show that between everyone gathered—their funding, time, expertise, moral authority, networks, and legitimacy—the full range of resources required to realize the plan is already here or within reach.
Establish feasibility.
The aim is reassurance. When people look around the table, they should see that the raw materials for success already exist among them. Confidence comes from recognition: this group can do it. It should feel concrete and attainable, not aspirational.
Show how contributions fit together.
Describe how each participant’s role complements the rest. Funding enables speed. Expertise ensures precision. Legitimacy opens access. Moral authority and community presence anchor trust. The story is interdependence—every form of power has a place in the system.
Prepare for activation.
Close with quiet readiness: the structure is in place, the resources assembled, the team aligned. The next step is to begin.
Step 9 — We can make it happen, starting here.
Signal readiness.
This step marks the hand-off from feasibility to immediacy. The work is real, the people are aligned, and the path is visible. You’re not declaring launch; you’re showing that launch is within reach. The purpose is to let the listener feel proximity—to see how close this is to beginning.
Describe the first moves.
Sketch what happens as soon as the meeting ends or the call concludes: the follow-up session to schedule, the first outreach to confirm, the document to circulate, the pilot to stand up. Keep the focus on the next few days, not the full roll-out. The goal is to make the start visible and graspable.
Carry the momentum forward.
As you outline these first moves, maintain the energy that has built across the argument. The tone should stay steady and pragmatic—forward-tilted without theatrics. You’re simply showing how the conversation becomes action.
Invite engagement.
Close by directing attention to the next coordination moment: when roles are defined, commitments formalized, and participation becomes concrete. “Starting here” signals the transition from alignment to involvement—the moment when the people in the room step into the work.
Geoffrey MacDougall 