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CIAN Student Retreat Innovation to Market Workshop 2017

This year’s Student Retreat and Innovation to Market Workshop took place in San Francisco, CA. Students from across the CIAN universities attended to participate in the professional development and innovation workshops. Two speakers gave workshops for the students. Below is included the recording of Will Tungpagasit’s presentation on Startup Life and Bri McWhorter’s summary of best practices in formal presentations.

will-tungpagasit

Startup Life: Fact and Fiction

Will Tungpagasit
Shabuta Corp.

Will Tungpagasit, engineer and entrepreneur, will share his experiences founding and building companies in Silicon Valley. He will clarify the hype surrounding the industry, what options you have to actually building a company, and specific strategies on how to innovate efficiently via entrepreneurship. Afterwards, he’ll lead a brainstorming session and meditation workshop.

 

bri-mcwhorterPresentation Fundamentals: Formal presentations, Elevator Pitches & Developing Your Brand
Bri McWhorter
Activate to Captivate

Using acting tools, learn the techniques that all the best public speakers utilize to craft a dynamic and compelling speech. Become familiar with the necessary vocal, articulation and breath support tools that every presenter should have. Figure out how to distill your message to clearly articulate your ideas and take advantage of every opportunity which comes your way. Explore what makes you unique, clarify your career goals and make a plan to develop your personal brand.

DEFINING YOUR AUDIENCE:
FORMAL PRESENTATIONS, ELEVATOR PITCHES AND DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND
BY BRI MCWHORTER

No matter where you are presenting your ideas, whether it is in a formal presentation, an elevator pitch or developing your brand, you need to think about your audience first. How you craft and deliver your message depends on who you are speaking to.

 1. PRESENTATION

Think about what type of audience you will be addressing. Are they a technical audience or a general one? What type of jargon is appropriate? How much detail can you go into? Knowing these answers will help you develop and organize your message.

Once you have that message, you have to think about the best way to deliver it. Focus on telling your story, rather than reiterating facts. Tell the audience why they should care about your research. Get them invested in the process.

2. ELEVATOR PITCH

In an elevator pitch, you have a very small window of time where you have to capture your audience’s attention. Have a few pitches ready depending on whom you are talking to. That way, once you know a bit about their background, you can jump into the pitch that best fits the situation.

However, it isn’t enough to have different ideas of pitches, you need to workshop them. Practice with people from different backgrounds. See what works and what doesn’t. Then adjust your message depending on that feedback. It would be a shame to miss an opportunity to connect with someone because you didn’t take the time to work on perfecting your pitches.

3. DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND

Knowing who your target audience is will help you decide which social media platforms to utilize. There are so many options available and it can be a bit overwhelming when you are starting out. For example, if you are trying to target young millennials, Snapchat is a good place to start. However, if you are trying to reach experts in your industry, I would suggest utilizing LinkedIn first, so you can establish a larger professional network.

Once you decide who you want to target, start connecting with people. Engage with posts they’ve written. Share your own ideas by writing articles. Establish your voice and take advantage of every networking opportunity that social media provides.

SUMMARY

During a presentation, a pitch, or building your brand, always think about your audience first. Craft your goal by thinking about things from their perspective. This will help you create, distil and deliver your message in the most effective way.

 

 

 

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