Rubric for Speech #1 - Elevator Pitch

I took the elements of a successful elevator pitch that we brainstormed from last class and used them to create this rubric.  I made a couple of minor tweaks here and there, but nothing too significant.

Make sure you give this a look over the weekend -- it could help you think through the content and design/structure of your pitch. :)

Testing, Testing

1, 2, 3.

Scoping Out Some Elevator Pitches

Let's use these examples from YouTube to analyze the ingredients of a successful(?) elevator pitch in greater depth.  I'll show some of these in class tomorrow, and we can talk about what tactics we like, dislike, and why.  (Feel free to check them out on your own too, fyi!)

Here are some ways of thinking about elevator pitches and crafting your message in a deliberate, attention-getting fashion.

These two videos show examples of effective and ineffective elevator pitches.

A "how to" video on thinking through your elevator pitch.

Here are two successful contest-winning elevator pitches.  

And here's a TedTalk that can get you thinking about larger rhetorical considerations involved with constructing -- and receiving -- an elevator pitch.

The Rhetorical Situation

We're going to be talking about this today during class, and I think it'll help you think through your upcoming "elevator pitch" to make it more authentic, realistic, and life-like.

Instead of writer and reader, we'll be thinking about speaker and listener, respectively.   Some other major terms/concepts that I'd like us to have "down" are exigence, context, and purpose.

Activities During Class

When we have in-class activities -- either in small group work or solo-style work -- let's use this Google Doc throughout the whole semester to record our responses.  

Lesson Plans and Our In-Class Notes

Hey, COMM 131rs, I'm going to post our weekly lesson plans in this Google Doc, so if/when you'd like to access them, you can find them right there.  Also, please know that whenever you see me taking notes on our discussions in class, it'll be available there too.  (Put another way: don't feel like you need to spend your time scribbling down every last detail -- I'll try to capture the most important take-aways.)  

Links to Our Course Readings

Below, you'll find links to our course readings.  Note: the ones that I've highlighted aren't "open access" (available, for free -- legally -- online) so I'll email them to you.  Also, please keep in mind what I said in class: these readings are designed to help guide your individual speech projects, so although you won't be getting quizzed on them, they're still super-important.  (Much more important than any quiz or test, in my opinion.) 

Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking (Elbow)

Navigating Genres (Dirk)

How to Read Like a Writer (Bunn)

As a Result – Connecting the Parts (Birkenstein & Graff)

SoWhat?  Who Cares? – Saying Why It Matters (Birkenstein & Graff)

Index of Templates (Birkenstein & Graff)

Anonymous Questions?

If you have a question that you'd like to ask me but you either haven't gotten around to it or you feel embarrassed (PS: don't feel embarrassed -- we're in this together) or something, feel free to post it in this anonymous Google Doc.  ll do my best to check it every few days.

Upload Your Blog Info

When you've finished creating your blog, make sure you upload your blog information (so I can add you to my blog) in this Google Doc. 

How to Create a Blog!

Follow these simple steps to create a blog for our course -- we'll be using it to post our "Start, Stop Continue" analyses and various in-class assignments.  Don't worry about the specifics for now -- I'll be explaining all of this in greater detail in class.

COMM 131 Syllabus

Greetings, COMM 131rs!

Click this link to find our course syllabus.  I wanted to upload it as a Google Doc (instead of, say, a regular MS Word "doc" file or a PDF) because I may make some small changes to our readings here and there.  No sweat, though -- I'll make sure to give you a heads up if/when I do.

Z