MBA 6213, Dr. Rob Austin McKee
MBA 6213, Dr. Rob Austin McKee
Pitch Assignment
( After reading the instruction please note that I would like the paper to talk about: The importance of exercising at least 3 times a week, especially doing cardio. My ho
y is to play soccer at least 2 times a week. This routine allows me to do some cardio on a weekly basis. Therefore, I would like everyone to incorporate at least 3 cardio routine in their weekly schedule. My main purpose is to help everyone to avoid unwanted sickness related to a lack of exercise.)
A young woman was enrolled in a community college US government course I took a few years ago. In class, she constantly mentioned environmental issues and proclaimed herself to be supremely environmentally conscious. Throughout the semester, she was unapologetically and unrelentingly self-aggrandizing and condescending. While many of the other students in the class undoubtedly supported the spirit of her message, they grew increasingly hostile toward her because of her communication style. I would imagine this young woman had already modified her lifestyle as much as possible to accommodate her beliefs regarding environmental impact, sustainability, and consumerism. However, she failed to realize that her greatest opportunity for making a difference in the world was in influencing others to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices. Thus, despite general support among the class for the content of her message, the delivery of her message i
itated others and sabotaged her ability to impact them and, thus, the world. This outcome was unfortunate but avoidable.
What are you passionate about? What ideas would you like to promote among your peers and the greater world? Why should the world care? How does the delivery of your message affect your persuasiveness and success?
Your task for this assignment is to write a speech concerning something you are passionate about. Your goal is to inspire the audience to change some aspect of ourselves, such as our behaviors, attitudes, opinions, beliefs, or values. You should inspire us to want to learn more about your topic. You should convince us that your behaviors, attitudes, opinions, beliefs, or values regarding the issue are right and worthy of adopting as our own. Simply describing your passion is insufficient.
The purpose of the Pitch Assignment is to provide you an opportunity to hone your ve
al and written communication skills, which are cornerstones of effective leadership and the management of organizational behavior. The importance of the quality of your ve
al and written communication cannot be overstated for your career and life. As such, this assignment explicitly requires you to craft, examine, and develop the ve
al and nonve
al content of your speech. Beyond improving communication as a leadership skill, this project simultaneously gives you a platform to persuade others about the importance of something you care about.
Deliverable:
is your Pitch Script. As the name implies, it is your script (i.e., the written text of what you will say) for the pitch you will deliver. It should adhere to all the formal requirements outlined herein and follow university standards for spelling and grammar. Stylistically, it should be clear, concise, and compelling. The language should be colloquial rather than academic. Your pitch script should be just XXXXXXXXXXwords.
The first 50-75 words of the pitch should, as a distinct paragraph, provide an introduction to you and your topic. What is your name? What do you do? How did you become passionate about the subject area of your pitch? Why are you talking to us? Most importantly, let us (i.e., the audience) know the purpose of your pitch. Directly indicate to us what idea, social cause, behavior, attitude, opinion, belief, or value you would like us to adopt. Also, please explicitly dedicate your pitch to someone or something important to you and your passion (e.g., “I’d like to dedicate this pitch to my fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Mills, who taught me the importance of mathematics.”)
The remainder of your pitch should illuminate your passion. I would encourage you to be as specific as possible when identifying your passion. If your passion is fitness, give us a specific sport, routine, or regimen. If your passion is nutrition, give us specific dietary guidelines. If your passion is traveling, recommend a specific destination. Also, I would strongly encourage you to discuss a passion more intriguing and less conventional than fitness, diet, or traveling.
Before you begin to write, it would be helpful to consider the structure of your pitch. Beyond the introductory paragraph, you are advised to divide your pitch into three sections, each composed of three to five main points. Below I provide loose recommendations for the first two sections, but the final “call-to-arms” section is required. This structure will help you to organize and later internalize the content of your pitch.
The first section of your pitch might relate your personal interest in the topic via a story wherein you, another person, or some other entity (e.g., a company) act(s) as the protagonist, thereby showing some personal connection to your passion. For example, if your passion is maintaining a connection to your culture through the elders of your family, you might tell a story about how you and your grandmother used to make some specific food item together when you were a kid.
The second section might discuss your passion on a more macro scale. Thus, you might cover the history leading up to its cu
ent state, what might happen in the future, and the ramifications of adhering to or disregarding your ideas regarding the subject. You might provide statistics or pose and answer a rhetorical question. The third section should convey your “call-to-arms” to your audience, wherein you ask us to change in some way, reinforce why we should change, and provide us guidance as to how to change.
When crafting your pitch, remember that each element (section, paragraph, sentence) should serve a specific purpose. You should not have a single run-on paragraph comprising your entire pitch. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence, and every sentence within each paragraph should relate to and support that topic sentence. Remember that your ultimate purpose is to compel your audience to change. Anything that does not serve that purpose should be revised or eliminated. Please ensure that you cite any sources of information you use to write your pitch. Do not directly quote any sources unless you are using a short excerpt of perhaps 10-15 words. Even then, rewrite it in your own words whenever possible. Generally, the only instance wherein I would recommend quoting a passage directly is if you are quoting a famous or otherwise significant person.
Pitch Assignment Ru
ic
Expert
Proficient
Apprentice
Novice
Ve
al Communication
Grammar and language are excellent
Grammar and language are good
Grammar and language are acceptable
Grammar and language are poor
Nonve
al Communication
Facial expressions, body language, and vocal tone are excellent and strongly reinforce the topic
Facial expressions, body language, and vocal tone are good and reinforce the topic
Facial expressions, body language, and vocal tone are acceptable and mildly reinforce the topic
Facial expressions, body language, and vocal tone are
poor and fail to reinforce
the topic
Does not seem to be reading script
Rarely seems to be reading script
Occasionally seems to be reading script
Constantly seems to be reading script
Structure and Flow
Topic is specific and focused
Topic is generally focused
Topic is apparent but lacks focus
Topic is unspecified or vague
Includes a clear introduction of speaker and topic of 5075 words
Includes an introduction of speaker and topic of <50 or >75 words
Includes some form of introduction of <25 or >100
words
No distinct introductory paragraph, or paragraph >125words
Introduction includes a formal dedication
Introduction does not include a formal dedication
Clearly seeks to change audience's behavior,
attitudes, opinions, beliefs,
or values
Generally seeks to change audience's behavior,
attitudes, opinions, beliefs,
or values
Somewhat seeks to change audience's behavior,
attitudes, opinions, beliefs,
or values
Does not seek to change audience's behavior,
attitudes, opinions, beliefs,
or values
Sequence of ideas presented in the pitch is logical
Sequence of ideas makes sense
Sequence of ideas meanders but is acceptable
Sequence of ideas wanders aimlessly
Topic sentences readily distinguish different sections
Topic sentences distinguish different sections
Different sections are moderately identifiable
Different sections are not identifiable
Well-defined call-to-arms with 3-5 specific and actionable steps
Good call-to-arms
Acceptable call-to-arms
No call-to-arms
No redundancy present
Little redundancy present
Some redundancy present
Much redundancy present
No plagiarism present
Inclusion of any plagiarized content will result in a failing grade and a Academic Honesty report being filed with the University
Length
XXXXXXXXXXwords
<550 or >650 words
<525 or >700 words
<500 or >750 words
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