For my elevator pitch, I chose to focus on a public relations oriented career path. I have a few ideas about what I want to pursue in the future, however because this assignment focuses on physical presentation as well as succinctness and organization, I figured leaning into a more communications based approach would best suit my pitch. I tried my best to blend my skills as a history major with my goals and how I plan on using my degree in a communications and social setting.
I began by presenting a situation with the soap brand Dove in 2017, where a lack of historical research on soap advertisements in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the brand launching a racist ad campaign for their bodywash. I used this as a hook to introduce my thoughts on public relations and history, and how the two should be closely intertwined. After clearly introducing the topic, I introduced myself, my major, and my career goals. Throughout the remainder of my speech, I discussed how historical research is vital to good advertisements and public campaigns, and how public relations scandals have been around for hundreds of years.
During my presentation, I was most worried about my timing, mainly speaking too fast. I have experience giving presentations similar to the elevator pitch; however I know I still have a tendency to talk too fast and trip over my words. I needed to figure out how to balance out the length of my speech both in my original notes and in my final presentation. As I was speaking, I tried to remain conscious of how quickly I was talking and slow down as I thought necessary. Luckily after my presentation, Dr. Handyside said my timing was really good and I was really easy to understand.
Dr. Handyside specifically noted how he liked my organization during my pitch. I was worried about my introduction coming off as off-topic or providing too much context but he said it really helped to clarify my goals and topic. He said that my goals were very clear and my methodology, approach, and reasoning was understandable and well thought out.
As a history major, I do a lot of writing but not as much presenting and speaking, so a project like this is very helpful especially if I want to go into a field where debating and speaking is very prevalent. Public speaking is actually one of the biggest fears I have when it comes to public relations, so I value any practice I can get. I also appreciate presenting in front of peers and professors I know before having to public speak in the real world. I want to continue working on my memorization and talking speed so I can create thorough, balanced, and cohesive presentations of my ideas and research.
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