MBA 6213, Dr. Rob Austin McKee

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Pitch Assignment

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 irritated

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 and deliver a perfect 4-minute speech concerning

something you are passionate about. Your goal is to inspire the audience (i.e., me and your peers) 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 verbal and

written communication skills, which are cornerstones of effective leadership and the management of