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2024 Contest Guidelines
Did you work on a project this year that you want people to know about? Or do you have an idea for a project or a product unlike any other? Or perhaps something we've seen before but that you can improve upon in a way no one else has thought of?
Now is your chance to give the world a glimpse of what you have to offer.
In the span of 20-90 seconds, roughly the length of a short elevator ride, your goal is to sell your idea, to present your audience with something that they will not only understand, but also remember. Any good elevator pitch, whether for a contest, an employer, or even a potential investor, should be interesting, persuasive, succinct, and memorable.
All submitted recordings should meet the following criteria:
Filmed in a landscape orientation (horizontal)
3:2, 16:10, and 16:9 are acceptable (standard film and smartphone aspect ratios)
Filmed with the subject centered, front-lit, and visible from the torso up
Feel free to use your hands during your pitch!
Filmed in a single, continuous shot without visual aids or digital effects
All you have is 20-90 seconds and your audience's undivided attention; don't waste them!
Filmed with a simple, static background (not distracting from or silhouetting the subject)
Filmed indoors with minimal background noise
Submitted as either an .mov or an .mp4 file
The entire SMC community will have the chance to view and vote for the best pitch among the finalists. The winner and their prize will be announced at the Conference.
See the timeline below for dates, details, and links.
May 1: Round 1 Submission Deadline (20-second)
Submit a 20-second pitch (informal) to enter the contest. This first recording can be informal, just use your phone, but be convincing! Treat this as a preview to the main idea or project you want to pitch.
May 2: Finalists Announced
The judges overseeing the contest will use the initial submissions to select a group of finalists. Finalists will be invited to record and submit their official elevator pitch by the Round 2 Submission Deadline, with a maximum length of 90 seconds.
May 6: Round 2 Submission Deadline (90-second)
Finalists must submit their full 90-second elevator pitch by 5:00 pm to be included in the final round of campus-wide voting.
May 7-12: Campus-Wide Voting
Each finalist's pitch will be available to the Saint Mary's College campus community to view and vote on through the provided link.
Voting link available May 7
May 13: Elevator Pitch Contest Winner Announced
After voting closes, a winner will be announced and will receive a prize.
A few questions you'll want to consider as you prepare your pitch:
PRESENTATION: Is the delivery of your pitch appropriate and professional?
PROBLEM: What is the problem that you’re trying to solve? How big is the problem?
PREMISE: How are you going to make the problem go away?
PEOPLE: Why you? Why not someone else?
PROOF: What data can you provide about your topic? (e.g. research, sales figures, prototypes)
PURPOSE: What are the metrics for your success? (e.g. profit potential, overall effectiveness)
(adapted from Southton & West, 2002)
Tell a Story
"In the average one-minute speech, the typical student uses 2.5 statistics. Only one student in ten tells a story... When students are asked to recall the speeches, 63% remember the stories. Only 5% remember any individual statistic. You read that right: 5% remembered statistics; 63% remembered stories. Why is it that students in this exercise remember the stories significantly better than statistics alone? It boils down to this: statistics use the analytical part of the brain whereas stories engage both the analytical part of the brain as well as the emotional part of the brain."
(Lingwall, 2019)
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