Analysis of Linguistic Features in Startup Pitches

The aim of this study is to analyze spoken linguistic features of three-minute startup pitches. Linguistic features analyzed included discourse markers, dysfluency, modality, numeral phrases, pronouns, reduced forms, repetitions, rhetorical questions, vague expressions, and vocatives. The corpus is comprised of 92 startup pitches delivered in real time at a pitching competition as part of an international technology conference. The pitches were transcribed, and linguistic features were identified with the aid of concordance software. Results from the analysis of linguistic features show that startup pitches contain aspects typically found in spoken genres, reflecting orthographic transcription, real time, shared context, interactivity and style.