Leading up to our final pitch before the judges, my group became very focused. Narrowing down our ideas was one of the most challenging parts because we had a lot of good ideas, but they often took us down different paths leading in opposite directions. Once we settled on what we were finally going to pitch, then we needed to refine our presentation and come up with answers for anticipated questions.
At the same time, we started putting the presentation together, keeping in mind that we would be limited to only three minutes. It was a careful balancing act between not putting enough detail and putting too much that we wouldn’t be able to cover in just the three minutes. We relied upon different team members’ strengths to complete the presentation: each person helped out with an aspect that they were most proficient in.
Then it was time to start preparing for the pitch itself. Again, we took a collaborative approach and always made sure to get everyone’s input on the exact wording and style we planned on using. At the same time, it was sometimes difficult to make sure the pitch didn’t sound like a patchwork of different ideas but rather a cohesive piece that flowed easily between sections.
We chose two people to speak, Elmedin and I, and two people to answer questions, Daniel and Jake. This way, each pair could focus more intently on a specific piece instead of trying to prepare for both the speech itself and any questions that came later. We all were pretty nervous leading up to the final pitch, but once we got up there and started speaking, we established a good flow. When it came time for questions, Daniel and Jake were well-prepared and had good answers for everything. Although we did not ultimately win the competition, our team was very satisfied with our work and we were most happy to have gotten the chance to meet each other and learn about each other’s cultures over the past week. We all hope to visit each other again in the future.
Swanson School of Engineering 