• Time Required
• 7–8 hours, including reading time

This week we begin work on your oral presentation, which takes the form of a long elevator pitch. You will submit your presentation as a video recording with voiceover. You will work on this project in three parts:

1. Work on what you will say in your voiceover (Week of March 14–18)
2. Work on what you will show in your slides (Week of March 21–25)
3. Work on recording your video (Week of March 28–April 1)

This week you will work on what you will say in your voiceover by drafting your script.

Connections to the Recommendation Report

The work for the next three weeks will fit into your Recommendation Report in these ways:

• The script for your pitch can be used as part of the draft of your report introduction and front matter.
• Graphics that you create can be used as illustrations and visuals in your report.

 

What You Will Learn & Practice

• How to analyze your audience and purpose so that you can choose supporting material that is convincing to your readers and decide the best way to present information clearly and effectively. [CLO 1]
• How to find and evaluate ethical evidence in secondary sources, such as books, articles, podcasts, and videos, and through primary research, such as observation, inspection, experiment, and interview, that supports your position. [CLOs 2 & 3]
• How to write documents you may encounter in the workplace, such as letters, memos, instructions, proposals, reports, and presentations. [CLO 4]
• Collaborate with classmates in planning, researching, writing, revising, and presenting information. [CLO 5]
• How to use colors, layout, and formatting that make your documents understandable and easy to read and how to take advantage of design principles, including contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity, to communicate your ideas effectively. [CLO 6]

 

Activities to Complete

📚 To Read This Week

• Markel & Selber, Chapter 21, “Making Oral Presentations”
• What Is a Pitch?
• Pitch Criteria
• LinkedIn Learning, Designing a Presentation (Video Assignment, 56m)

📝 To Write This Week

• Compose the Pitch Script Assignment, which includes completing these activities:
  • Introducing Your Presentation
  • Using Memorable Language
  • Concluding Your Presentation

💬 To Discuss This Week

1. Check in with your Accountability Group, according to the agreement that you have made.
   • Be sure that group members understand that Feedback Discussions have no grace period.
   • Remind your group that Work Logs have a 5-day grace period and must be submitted by March 23.
2. Post any questions you have about the course projects below (optional). You can also check these Discussions for answers.
   1. Questions about the Pitch Presentation
   2. Questions about the Recommendation Report
3. You can participate in either of these discussions, depending upon when you have a draft ready to share. If you want, you can participate in both of them as well. It’s completely up to you. Just remember that if you post a draft, you will assigned two drafts to add feedback to.

   Script Feedback Discussion

   • Follow the directions in the Pitch Script Feedback Discussion to share what you have created with the class for peer feedback.
   • After peer review partners are assigned (Saturday, March 19), read drafts from your classmates and offer feedback on how to revise. Feedback is due by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, March 23.

   Second-Chance Script Feedback Discussion

   • If you needed more time to write your script draft, follow the directions in the Second-Chance Pitch Script Feedback Discussion.
   • After peer review partners are assigned (Thursday, March 24), read drafts from your classmates and offer feedback on how to revise. Feedback is due by 11:59 PM on Monday, March 28.

📓 To Track This Week

• Track and reflect on the work you have done for the week in your Work Log for the Week of 03/14, reviewing the Weekly Work Log Guidelines if needed.

 

 

Photo credit: Online presentation setup by Michael Sauers on Flickr, used under a CC-BY-NC 2.0 license.