Pitching Lesson 1 (6-12)

PITCHING
1
Grades: 6-12
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USER ENTREPRENEURIAL
GUIDE MINDSET & SKILLSET
INTRODUCTORY
VIDEO
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
KEY TERMS /04
LESSON 1 OVERVIEW /05
LESSON 1 PREPARATION /07
ACTIVITY 1: SELL ME THIS /09

Duration: 20 minutes
ACTIVITY 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING /12

ACTIVITY 3: THE ART OF PERSUASION /14

ACTIVITY 4: DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT /17

Want 90 more minutes of

Pitching? Click here to
purchase Lesson 2!
KEY TERMS
ENT REPRENEURS
spot an opportunity and develop a vision for a new product, business or solution and
put together all the resources needed to bring their ideas to life.
ENT REPRENEURSHIP
isn’t just about starting companies; it is a skillset and a way of thinking. The core of
entrepreneurship is building a solution to a problem and taking the necessary steps to
make it a reality.
ELEVAT OR PIT CH
is the shortest version of your pitch that you have ready at any time in case you
spontaneously meet someone who could be a potential investor. The “elevator” refers
to the amount of time you have to make your pitch (the length two people may find
themselves in an elevator).
INVEST OR
are people who might use their own money to fund a new business in exchange for
partial ownership of the company. If the business is successful, investors make money
on their investment.
PIT CHES
are short, persuasive speeches (formal or informal) targeted at potential investors or
other kinds of potential stakeholders/ supporters.
Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 4

LESSON 1 OVERVIEW
TOTAL DURATION
90 minutes Tell students pitching isn’t always about
getting investors. It’s about speaking
persuasively.
INTRODUCTION
Pitching is essentially explaining your business plan verbally. An entrepreneur uses a pitch
to summarize their ideas and sell themselves to potential investors. The process is so
important to entrepreneurs because a successful pitch can secure the funding needed to
launch an idea from theoretical to reality.
In this lesson, we’ll focus on two of the most important background pieces to pitching:
Public Speaking Skills and Persuasion.
In Activity 1, students will get primed to learn about pitching and specifically public
speaking and persuasion skills. With just a few minutes of preparation, they’ll try to sell
their classmates on a certain product. They’ll reflect back on this part of the lesson after
they’ve learned specific skills.
In Activity 2, public speaking will be unveiled as an important part to pitching. Students

will see examples of good public speaking and make a list of qualities to remember.
Activity 3 repeats much of the same work as Activity 2, but this time focuses on the subtle
art of persuasion.
Finally, in Activity 4, students put together everything they learned and create a 1-minute
sales pitch of themselves. This speech will come in handy in the next Pitching lesson, as
well as in students’ lives as they go into job interviews and college admissions tours in the
future.
NOT E: The charts you create with the class in this lesson will be used
again in Pitching B — hang onto them!

GOALS
In this lesson, students will learn some of the background skills necessary for great
pitching. This includes skills like:
• Effective public speaking
• Persuasive techniques
• Understanding the importance of pitching for entrepreneurs
• Finding the confidence to speak in front of large groups
ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSETS AND SKILLS

This lesson is designed to help students experience and develop the following:
Entrepreneurial Mindsets Entrepreneurial Skills

Opportunity Seeking Pitching
Problem Solving Public Speaking
Optimism Creativity
Adaptability Brainstorming & Idea Generation
Accepting Failure
Courage
Persistence and Grit

LESSON 1 PREPARATION
DAY BEFORE LESSON
1) Read through entire lesson.
2) Collect and organize everyday objects for Activity 1
3) Watch video: “Simple Sugars Pitch Video (Shark Tank)”
4) Watch video: “Oprah Winfrey Harvard Commencement speech”
5) Read President Obama’s Speech Excerpts.

6) Print speeches for each student (optional).
DAY OF LESSON
1) Read through lesson again.
2) Organize materials for easy distribution.
3) Hang chart paper.
MATERIALS
• Different items for each student to pitch — Use simple, everyday objects like pencils,
pens, sticky-notes, etc.
• Chart paper
• Markers
• President Obama’s Speech Excerpts
• A 6-sided die

DOWNLOADS
SLIDES PRESIDENT OBAMA

SPEECH EXCERPTS

ACTIVITY 1: SELL ME THIS
INTRODUCTION Duration: 20 min
This activity acts as students’ introduction to pitching. If you’ve recently completed the
Intro to Entrepreneurship lessons or the Opportunity Analysis lessons, your students have
already been exposed to pitching through The Pitch Game. So, if you’ve already given your
students the basics, skip steps 1-4 below-instead, just remind students about pitching, and
jump right into the activity!
MATERIALS
• Video: “Simple Sugars Pitch Video (Shark Tank)”
• Different items for each student to pitch — Use simple, everyday objects like pencils,
pens, stick-notes, etc.
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Explain to students that when entrepreneurs come up with new ideas, they have to
make short persuasive speeches targeted at potential investors (people who might use
their own money to fund a new business or venture in exchange for partial ownership).
These speeches are called “elevator pitches.” Why? The “elevator” refers to the
amount of time you have to make your pitch - which is about 30 seconds (the length
two people may find themselves together in an elevator) - as well as the spontaneous
nature of these encounters. You have to be prepared ahead of time and be ready to
give the pitch at any time.
2) Tell students pitching isn’t always about getting investors. It’s about speaking
persuasively. You pitch yourself when you write a cover letter or go on a job interview.
You pitch your skills when you ask for a raise at work. Teachers pitch the importance of
education to their students. Doctors pitch healthy eating to their patients. Teenagers
pitch why their curfew should be later!
3) Explain to students that they’ve probably already seen pitches. If they’ve ever looked
at crowd-funding sites like Kickstarter or GoFundMe, they’ve seen people’s pitches.
These are platforms where people explain product ideas or needs for money. The
television show Shark Tank is also about pitching.

4) Show “Simple Sugars Pitch Video (Shark Tank)”. What qualities make her pitch
effective? Make a list of effective pitch characteristics on chart paper. (Answers might
include: a personal story, clear, slow speaking, eye contact, an explanation of the
product, why the product is needed, what the product does that others don’t do, a
request for help, and information about what makes the entrepreneur the right person
to make the product).
5) Explain to students that pitches answer these questions:

• Who are you?
• Why should we care?
• What are you selling?
• Who are you selling to?
• Who are you competitors?
• What is the price?
• What do you need?
6) Pitches are also engaging and interesting. You don’t want your investors to fall asleep
30 seconds into your pitch.
7) Now tell students they’ll try pitching on the fly. Explain that this experience isn’t
anything like what they’d do for their own products. Entrepreneurs do tons of research
and are totally invested in the success of their products and services. This activity is
more to get in the mindset of someone who has to speak persuasively to the public.
It’s not about perfection, it’s about getting up in front of people and starting to build
that comfort.
Not all students will want to do a cold pitch to the class, but this lesson
is really about getting them to face those fears. If needed (and for time
reasons) you may choose to have students pitch to just a partner or a
small group rather than the whole class.
8) Distribute the items you brought for students. Do this randomly, just placing items on
student desks or tables.
9) Give students just 1-2 minutes to consider all of the questions a pitch must answer
and decide how to “sell” their product to the class. Remind students that they should
make this product seem like the best there ever was and convince everyone they need
that exact item—even it’s a standard yellow pencil. Let students have fun with this!

10) Have students stand in front of the class and give 30-second pitches on their product.
You may want to break this presentation up into small groups or just to partners if time
is an issue.
NOT E: Don’t make this experience into a competit ion by voting for the
best “pitch.” This process was like the drafting phase of writ ing—not
meant to be evaluated, just for the experience and practice.
T IP: Set up a camera to film student pitches. Explain that no one

outside the class will see the film. It’s to get them comfortable pitching
for a camera which they’ll do in the next lesson.
POST-ACTIVITY DISCUSSION
• How did you use the questions to develop your pitch?
• What was the most difficult part of creating the pitch?
• How did you feel delivering the pitch?
• What will you do differently when preparing a pitch for your own product or service?

ACTIVITY 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING
Students will watch a video of public speaking, break down what makes a good public
speaker, and tie that information to pitching.
MATERIALS
• Video: “Oprah Commencement Speech” (2:00-7:35)
• Chart paper
• Markers
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Ask students to raise their hands if they felt comfortable speaking in front of the
class (or their group) (and in front of a camera) in the last activity. Tell students that
entrepreneurs have to speak in public often in order to get their projects funded, and,
even to just let people know about their products and services. Public speaking can be
intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. There are tricks to getting really good at it.
2) Have students call out the names of people they think are good public speakers.
If they’re not sure, you might tell them that presidents like Barack Obama, Teddy
Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy were considered good speakers. Martin Luther King Jr.
is also widely considered a great speaker. TED Talks often feature great speakers who
talk about topics they are passionate about. Another person people listen to is Oprah
Winfrey. Tell students they’re going to watch a short clip of a speech Oprah gave at
the Harvard Commencement back in 2013. Ask students to be thinking about or even
writing down some of the things that Oprah does during her speech that make her a
good speaker.
3) Play the Oprah Commencement Speech video from 2:00-7:35.

4) Have students share things that Oprah did during her speech. Write the list on chart
paper while students are sharing. Students might mention things like:
• She smiled and made jokes about herself
• She told a story about a failure (a feeling people can relate to) and spoke to the
audience using “You” and “Me” to make it personal
• She talked about her emotions
• She looked at the audience, spoke clearly, and changed her tone of voice, speed, and
intonation
5) Ask students to get into pairs and think of other skills that are important for public
speaking. Remind students that they’re specifically thinking about things an
entrepreneur should know and practice while pitching. Give students 2-3 minutes to
come up with a new list.
6) Bring the whole class back together to the add to the list. Your students will probably
come up with great ideas. Add them to the chart you started above. Here are some
more that they might bring up:
• Know a lot about your topic - Use facts, statistics, and detailed information where
appropriate
• Plan for the time you have by writing the speech out or have good notes so you stay
focused
• Keep ideas organized
• Start with a strong opener and use humor (where appropriate) to make it memorable
• Move around, use your hands (but don’t be distracting)
• Be confident - speak clearly and believe what you’re saying
7) If students don’t mention these public speaking skills, be sure to add them to the list.
8) Go through each public speaking skill you’ve listed and ask why it’s important for
entrepreneurs to know and use while pitching. Answers should center around keeping
the audience/investors engaged, interested, and educated about the product or
service. Pitching also allows the entrepreneur to sell themselves as the best person to
create the product. (This leads into persuasive skills in the next activity. See what we
did there?)

ACTIVITY 3: THE ART
OF PERSUASION
Students will watch a few commercials, break down what makes a speech/pitch/ad
persuasive, and tie that information to pitching.
MATERIALS
• Optional kid-friendly commercials:
• Video: “For One, Another - TOMS TV Commercial”
• Video: “Best IKEA Commercial Ever - Winter Sales”
• Chart Paper
• Markers
• President Obama’s Speech Excerpts

INSTRUCTIONS
1) Tell students that not only do entrepreneurs have to speak in public often in order to
get their projects funded, and, even to just let people know about their products and
services, but they have to speak persuasively. Persuasion is the ability to get someone
to think about something in a certain way. People who speak and write persuasively
attempt to change the listener or reader’s views on a subject or get them to act in a
certain way. You can see why entrepreneurs need persuasion—they want investors to
think about their ideas as worth investing in.
2) We’re also influenced by ads and commercials, which are persuasive forms of media. If
you wish to show a few commercials to help students brainstorm, check out the kid-
friendly commercials.
3) Have students call out the qualities or techniques of persuasion that they’re familiar
with. Remind them that they’ve most likely written persuasive essays in school before
and that they see ads on TV and the internet every time they turn on a device. They’ve
also probably tried to convince their parents or friends about something in the past—
requests for more allowance, permission to stay out past curfew, or convincing your
BFF to let you borrow something are all real-life experiences you can remind students
of. Their list of persuasive techniques might include:
• Appeal to emotion (pathos)- making the person feel love, guilt, pride, happiness, etc.
• Appeal to logic (logos) - giving statistics that help the person understand WHY they
need to think a certain way
• Appeal to ethos- making you or the choice seem like the right and ethical way to go.
• Making the person think they’re cool or fashionable
• Promising amazing results
• Use of strong images or imagery to help the person transfer previous experiences to
a new one
• Appealing to vanity
• Bribery (Buy one get one, etc.)
• Making people feel like everyone else is doing it too

4) Have students read the President Obama’s Speech Excerpts from President Obama’s
speech about education.
5) Have students share the persuasive techniques that President Obama used during
his speech. Write the list on chart paper while students are sharing. Students might
mention things like:
• He puts the responsibility on the listener to make the right decision
• He compliments the listener
• He presents a problem only the listener can solve
• He explains why others NEED the listener to act a certain way
• He acknowledges current challenges but expresses belief that the listener will
overcome.
• He asks thought-provoking questions of the listener—if they don’t answer “right,”

things will be tough for them in the future
• He tells them what he wants from them
6) Ask students to get into pairs and think of other skills that are important for
persuasion. Remind students that they’re specifically thinking about things an
entrepreneur should know and practice while pitching—skills that will persuade an
investor to give money to the project. Give students 2-3 minutes to come up with a
new list.
7) Bring the whole group back together to the add to the list. Your students will probably
come up with great ideas. Add them to the chart you started above. If students don’t
mention the persuasive skills above be sure to discuss them and add them to the list.
8) Go through each persuasive skill you’ve listed and ask why it’s important for
entrepreneurs to know and use while pitching. Answers should center around keeping
the audience/investors interested in investing money. Persuasive pitches will convince
people that the entrepreneur’s product or service is the best option out there.

ACTIVITY 4: DON’T SELL
YOURSELF SHORT
Students will put together an elevator pitch about themselves to present to the class.
MATERIALS
• Charts from previous activities in this lesson
• A 6-sided die
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Explain to students that in this activity they’ll use persuasive and public speaking
techniques to present a quick 30 second to 1 minute speech about themselves.
2) Write or project the following scenarios on the board:

a) You’re at a job interview and the manager asks, “Why should we hire you?”
b) You’re on a college tour and the counselor asks, “Why should we admit you?”
c) You’re asking your parent(s) for something big (for example a car or your own
room or a pet) and they ask, “Why should we give you a _________?”
3) Have each student roll the die. If they get a 1 or 2, they’ll speak to scenario a. If they
roll a 3 or 4, they’ll speak to scenario b. If they roll a 5 or 6 they’ll speak to scenario c.
NOT E: You can also let students pick whichever scenario they’re most
comfortable with..
4) Give students about 10 minutes to review the qualities of public speaking and
persuasion and ask them to write a 30-second to 1-minute speech to present to the
class. In these speeches, students will need to highlight their uniqueness and what
makes them expressly qualified for the job/college/responsibility at hand. Encourage
students to be confident and bold in their presentations. Remind them to think about
the speaking qualities of Oprah and President Obama that they most admire and to put
themselves in those shoes.
5) When just 2 or 3 minutes of the prep time remain, let students know and suggest they
start practicing their speeches with others to get comfortable.
6) Take the next 15-20 minutes of class to have students present their speeches.

POST-ACTIVITY DISCUSSION (Optional)
• How did this pitch differ from the one you did at the beginning of class? Why was it
different?
• What was the most difficult part of creating this pitch about yourself?
• How did you feel delivering the pitch?
• What will you do differently when preparing a pitch for your own product or service?
EXTENSION
Have students find videos or audio examples of great speakers to share with the class.
If time is tight, have students write their speeches at home and present in class the next
day.

LESSON 1 REFERENCES
“Simple Sugars Pitch (Shark Tank Season 4 Episode 20).” YouTube, published by Every Shark
Tank Product,12 September 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2hcGWDQMVM
“Oprah Winfrey Harvard Commencement speech | Harvard Commencement 2013.” YouTube,

30 May, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMWFieBGR7c
“Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren.” National

Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration,
8 Sept. 2009, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-a-
national-address-americas-schoolchildren.

PITCHING
2
Grades: 6-12
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LESSON 2 OVERVIEW /23
LESSON 2 PREPARATION /25
ACTIVITY 1: WHAT GOES INTO A PITCH /27

ACTIVITY 2: MAKE A PITCH VIDEO /30

ACTIVITY 3: PITCH QUESTIONS /32


purchase Lesson 2!
LESSON 2 OVERVIEW
TOTAL DURATION “Entrepreneurs must come prepared. Don’t practice
your elevator pitch, practice your anywhere pitch”
90 minutes
– Richard Branson
INTRODUCTION

purchase Lesson 2!

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PITCHING

LESSON 1 OVERVIEW /05

LESSON 1 PREPARATION /07

ACTIVITY 1: SELL ME THIS /09

ACTIVITY 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING /12

ACTIVITY 3: THE ART OF PERSUASION /14

ACTIVITY 4: DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT /17

Want 90 more minutes of

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 4

In Activity 2, public speaking will be unveiled as an important part to pitching. Students

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 5

• Effective public speaking

• Understanding the importance of pitching for entrepreneurs

• Finding the confidence to speak in front of large groups

ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSETS AND SKILLS

Entrepreneurial Mindsets Entrepreneurial Skills

Persistence and Grit

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 6

4) Watch video: “Oprah Winfrey Harvard Commencement speech”

5) Read President Obama’s Speech Excerpts.

• President Obama’s Speech Excerpts

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 7

SLIDES PRESIDENT OBAMA

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 8

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 9

5) Explain to students that pitches answer these questions:

• Why should we care?

• What are you selling?

• Who are you selling to?

• Who are you competitors?

• What is the price?

• What do you need?

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 10

T IP: Set up a camera to film student pitches. Explain that no one

• What was the most difficult part of creating the pitch?

• How did you feel delivering the pitch?

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 11

3) Play the Oprah Commencement Speech video from 2:00-7:35.

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 12

• She smiled and made jokes about herself

• She talked about her emotions

• Keep ideas organized

• Move around, use your hands (but don’t be distracting)

• Be confident - speak clearly and believe what you’re saying

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 13

• Video: “For One, Another - TOMS TV Commercial”

• Video: “Best IKEA Commercial Ever - Winter Sales”

• President Obama’s Speech Excerpts

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 14

• Making the person think they’re cool or fashionable

• Promising amazing results

• Bribery (Buy one get one, etc.)

• Making people feel like everyone else is doing it too

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 15

• He puts the responsibility on the listener to make the right decision

• He compliments the listener

• He presents a problem only the listener can solve

• He explains why others NEED the listener to act a certain way

• He asks thought-provoking questions of the listener—if they don’t answer “right,”

• He tells them what he wants from them

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 16

2) Write or project the following scenarios on the board:

Venturelab.org © 2021 VentureLab 17