The average human attention span is short, and, according to a 2015 survey by Microsoft, it’s only getting shorter. In the study, 2,000 people were hooked up to an EEG machine that monitored their focus. Researchers found that humans have an attention span of eight seconds – a whole four seconds shorter than it was in the year 2000.

When it comes to pitching, this information proves incredibly useful. The key is to be succinct. In order to succeed in any capacity with your business, a great pitch is necessary, and yet, you would be surprised by how many people are unable to put across their business in a concise way. At the end of the day, investors are only human, so rebel entrepreneurs will make the most of the investors’ lack of time. They find a way to effectively capture the essence of their product or service in just a sentence or two. If this proves to be challenging, then the entrepreneur does not fully understand how to present their business.

Brevity is the key to an effective pitch, and this is not restricted to the world of business. Pitching is an essential part of many industries – journalism, science, education, arts – and the experts’ consensus is that a simple, succinct pitch with a singular message is the best way to get your message to resonate with your listeners. For instance, Christopher Joyce – the science editor at NPR – tells reporters that if they cannot pitch a story in one or two sentences, then the journalist does not know what the story is. The same is true for rebel entrepreneurs. Like editors, investors are not excited by jargon. With busy schedules, they are operating on a ‘need to know’ basis, so it is important for rebel entrepreneurs to concentrate on simplicity in their pitch.

As Einstein said “Make it simple”. Rebel entrepreneurs craft their product with simplicity in mind, and this makes the act of pitching easier. They develop their product knowing that if they cannot explain what it does to a six year-old, then they don’t understand it. If the product is simple, then the process of pitching it becomes straight-forward.