Bombing the Pitch
Part of the Extreme Blue program is developing a 4-minute presentation and a 1-Minute “elevator pitch” that explains our project. We have spent a considerable amount of time developing a very refined 4-minute powerpoint presentation that overviews the market drivers, our solution, and the value it will bring to IBM and its customers. The presentation features animations to help visually explain how our solution works as well as compelling market research to back our solution up. Each week, all four members of our team take part in performing the 4-minute presentation for our peers and an IBM guest executive who offers questions, comments, and valuable critique. A random member from the team performs the 1-minute pitch during a weekly meeting in front of our peers.
Our 4-minute presentation has been outstanding the past two weeks. We took our presentation from what I would have given a C- to an A-. In addition, we are handling the questions with ease. Next week’s pitch will be at a solid A. The one minute pitch, however, has not been our forte. I fealt I bombed it today. Fortunately, we are only in week five and there is plenty of time for improvement. I personally find the development of the presentation and the pitch the most valuable learning experience of this summer. By the end of this summer I will be awesome at public speaking. Practice. Practice. Practice.