Business Communications and Protocol
Plan and deliver a 60 second œpitch to promote yourself to a potential employer. Assignment introduced in class: week of October 13 /Speech delivered in class week of October 27.
Situation: A paid internship is available for the summer in a company you could imagine yourself working for once you graduate. You are obviously eager to secure this position. The good news is the company is sending an on-campus interviewer who is committed to filling the position with a TCOB student. Unfortunately, there are over 50 people applying for this position. Instead of reading through all of those applications, the campus interviewer (who looks suspiciously like your BCaP instructor) has decided to sit in a room and listen to applicants pitch themselves for 60 seconds. Then the interviewer will decide which five applicants will be asked to submit their resumes and to interview in the 2nd round.
Task: Your goal is to be one of those 5 people asked to the second-round interview. You have no more than 60 seconds to distinguish yourself from your peers. Avoid trying to cram in your entire resume in a one-minute spacebabbling too fast isn’t going to get you the job. Think instead of crafting a one-sentence encapsulation of who you are and what you can offer. According to Daisy Wademan Dowling, an executive coach and contributor to theHarvard Business Review, an effective one-sentence encapsulation will have three characteristics:
1. It is utterly genuinewhat do you think your value to the company really would be? What are you proudest of in your work/academic life?
2. It should focus on providing a solution to communications tasks/problems that most people find difficult or grapple with getting done.
3. It should convey an idea of what œgood things will happen for the division of the company who gets to have you as an intern for the summer.
That one-sentence encapsulation might turn into 2 or 3 sentencesthe point is to think about how you can communicate your strengths authentically to someone so that you are memorable without being obnoxiousand then to practice a lot. Absolutely no notes may be used; nor any visual aids.
Purpose of the assignment: It’s not just future entrepreneurs and salespeople who need to develop a œpitch. Anyone applying for any kind of professional position needs to be able to answer the questions, œWho are you and what do you do?and if you are interviewing, the unspoken question you need to be able to answer as well is, œHow will you add value?
Assessment:The assignment is worth 18 points. 7 points will be allocated to Content and 5 points each to Vocal delivery/Physical delivery. Time range is worth 1 point.
