Interviewing Skills

The Elevator PitchBirmingham City Career Development Conference

Birmingham Education Foundation, Urban League Young Professionals,TEDxBirmingham andBirmingham Rotary Club

+The ProcessChoose a TopicDecide on major thesis/point/takeaway for audienceOutline the presentationWrite down ideas to support argumentDraft full presentationEdit draftPractice presentationGive final presentation!+Elevator Pitch (n)Short speech of [varying length] we will shoot for 2-3 minutes; assume 200 words = 60 seconds. Used to describe or promote a service, product or project effectively in a short timeUsed by business people, educators and writers. *The elevator pitch originated during a time when taking the elevator in a large office building was very common. The ideal length of an elevator pitch--about 30 seconds--was based on the time it took the average elevator to rise 30 floors.*from EHOW.com+Three StepsIdentify yourselfBe confidentBe memorableSpeak clearly and conciselyInclude:Your nameCurrent occupation/grade in school

*In many cases, this will be your only opportunity to sell yourself. Be enthusiastic, be someone that the other person wants to work with, hear from, or meet again.

+Three StepsIdentify your interestsWhat are your academic interests?Best or favorite subject in schoolElective courseworkWhat are your non-academic interests?Extracurricular activities that you participate inClubsSportsVolunteer organizations or community activitiesEmployment (if applicable)

*Be specific and use examples to support your answers for example, if science is your favorite subject in school, briefly discuss a science project have you done recently that you really enjoyed.

+Three StepsIdentify your idea or goalWhat are your trying to accomplish?Someone to invest in your idea?Someone to offer you a job?What makes you standout? What makes you unique?What makes you a stronger candidate than someone else?Why is your idea worth listening to?Why should someone invest in you/your idea?What do investors have to gain?How can you add value to investors organization?

*You do not have to explicitly answer these questions in your actual Elevator Pitch, but you should articulate them for yourself and ask if the answers would be obvious to the person you are speaking to.

+Good elevator pitchesAre personal be friendly, confident, and energetic: in other words, someone that others want to work with. Are clear and concise in a short period of time, you have to choose your words wisely.Are sales pitches sell yourself or your idea to the person you are talking to. Are engaging ask questions to your audience so that they are active participants in your conversation. Are consistent use the same words every time you give your elevator pitch so that you communicate the same message to different audiences. Are rehearsed practice makes perfect, but practice also makes normal, and practices makes consistent.

+Mad Men: Kodak Carousel Pitch

+VH will show certain parts of this video totaling no more than 10mins. 8Reflection on Don Drapers Kodak PitchHow did the speaker:

Define himself as a presenter?What did he share about himself?What emotion did he rely on?

Define the argument?What was his main point?What was his secondary argument?What did he use to support the argument?

Define the nature of her presentation?What did he want audience to feel or do?

+Elevator Pitch WorkshopList 1 topic that you are:Interested inPassionate aboutKnowledgeable aboutFor the topic listed above:Express why the topic is important to youExpress why the audience should care about the topicState the desired outcome (what you want your audience to know, say, feel, or do after)Define a 1-2 sentence argument

Now, draft an 500-700 word Elevator Pitch explaining why you should have the opportunity to talk about your topic:Introduce yourself and your interests/goalsIntroduce the topic; include points in Part II of the exerciseWrite in a conversational styleShare draft with a partnerMake edits

*Topics may be same as or different from the last workshop*Be Specific!

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