Making Your “Pitch” Perfect Workshop

September 22, 2014

The mere thought of introducing yourself can be daunting for some people. The pressure is only ramped up when that introduction takes place during a job interview. This scenario was the idea behind a recent CxC workshop entitled: “Making your ‘Pitch’ Perfect.” No matter the goal of the 'pitch', whether trying to describe your career path, sell yourself to a potential employer, promote an organization, or present research, it is important that you understand what is expected and feel confident in the delivery of your 'pitch.'

CxC student services coordinator Melissa Thompson began the workshop by teaching the students about the importance of the rhetorical triangle when constructing a pitch. The triangle consists of 3 points—a specific audience, a speaker and a message. Thompson explained that before a word is spoken, the speaker must tailor their message to the audience. 

In addition to considering the rhetorical triangle, students need to be aware of the non-verbal components of a pitch. Your pitch should begin with a firm handshake and good eye contact. Next, students can add in the verbal components by using brief statements and engaging with your audience by asking questions.

After the perfect pitch was explained to the students, attendees worked on giving their pitches. Students were given pieces of paper to write down what they wanted to pitch. Once they came up with the scenario, the students found a partner and constructed pitches. Many students shared their ideas, and the whole group contributed feedback to help craft a flawless pitch for their peers.

“CxC does a great job at offering workshops that will promote and excel LSU’s students in the job market,” says biology sophomore John Brown. “The Pitch Perfect workshop has done this for me. I’ve learned how to give a pitch with a strong, concise message that will elicit questions from my audience. This was a great workshop for me because it allowed me to prepare and execute deliberately effective communication when it is most needed.”

Mass communication senior Garrett Miles added, “This workshop was a tremendous help because it taught me the importance of crafting personalized, relevant and interesting messages to grab the attention of possible employers. I also learned to introduce myself by talking about your passions and goals.”

For more information about upcoming workshops, visit our student workshop page or contact us at cxc@lsu.edu