The elevator pitch, which is part of the NAF Entrepreneurship course, is a great way for students in any course to learn how to synthesize ideas into meaningful summaries. This session demonstrates the process of developing and presenting a pitch. High school students will present their own ideas to participants who then will have a chance to try it themselves. Presenters: Richard Molzer and Fran Thew, John I. Leonard High School AOF

2. The Elevator Pitch: Not a
Curve Ball
Using elevator pitches as a technique to
teach students how to synthesize ideas
into 2-3 minute concise summaries.

3. Richard Molzer
• John I. Leonard High School
– Greenacres, Florida
– 39 years teaching Business Education
– Academy of Finance teacher for
juniors and seniors
– Internship Coordinator
• Curriculum Fellow for Business Economics
and Insurance courses
• NAF courses currently teaching: Applied
Finance, Financial Services, Financial
Planning, and Entrepreneurship
Fran Thew
• John I. Leonard High School
– Greenacres, Florida
– 39 years teaching Spanish, Biology,
Computer Science, Business
– Academy of Finance teacher for
freshmen
– Department Chair for Business and
Computer Science
• Curriculum Fellow for Financial Services
course
• Curriculum Leader for Applied Finance
course
• NAF course currently teaching: Principles of
Finance

4. Lucia Gonzalez
• John I. Leonard High School
• Academy of Finance
– Greenacres, Florida
– 2013 Graduate
– Interned and currently employed at:
Rent Florida Realty
– Industry Certifications: MOS for Word,
PowerPoint and Excel
– NAF youth presenter, Washington DC,
2012
– National Honor Society, Future Business
Leaders of America, 2013 Class
Treasurer
Sharon Ennist
• John I. Leonard High School
• Academy of Finance
– Greenacres, Florida
– 2013 Graduate
– Interned and currently employed at:
Publix
– Industry Certifications: MOS for Word,
PowerPoint and Excel
– NAF youth presenter, Washington DC,
2012
– Arise and Shine, Swim Team, Bowling
Team, Class of 2013 Student
Government

5. Why did you want to be a teacher?

7. What is a teacher?
A TEACHER . . .
• Wants to make a difference in the lives of the young
people in their classrooms.
• Provides students with the tools they will need to be
successful in attaining their future collegiate and career
goals.
• Sees student diversity in the classroom as an exciting
learning tool rather than as a barrier to learning.
• Challenges students to be the best that they can be.

8. THE NAF CURRICULUM
Why should I use the curriculum?
• Constantly updated by teams of professionals (no need for
expensive and soon outdated textbooks)
• All resources provided from lesson plans to student and
teacher resources
• Same strategies used in all courses
• Courses springboard off one another
• Courses include career exploration
• Courses include extensions for interdisciplinary work or
further inquiry
• Compliance with the NAF model

9. POSSIBLE OBSTACLES
Family/ Culture

10. NAF Curriculum
Provides teachers with tools . . .
• To promote cultural literacy
– Every lesson begins with anticipation guides
– Vocabulary enrichment
– Opportunities to explore topics in cooperative groups
to take pressure off ELL students
– Career exploration

11. POSSIBLE OBSTACLESLiteracy

12. NAF Curriculum
Provides teachers with tools . . .
• To promote literacy
– Strategies embedded seamlessly within the
curriculums
– Opportunities for reading and writing found in every
lesson
– Students read and write a variety of different genre

13. POSSIBLE OBSTACLES
Inability to solve problems – thinking outside the box

14. NAF Curriculum
Provides teachers with tools . . .
• To develop higher order thinking skills
– Lessons developed around real-world theme
– Project based learning where skills are applied in new
ways
– Extension lessons for deeper inquiry, interdisciplinary
applications

15. What is the best way to teach
the youth of today?

16. LECTURE

17. TEAMWORK
• A major soft skill required by business
and industry settings
• Many heads together can find solutions
to unique problems
• Each individual has his or her own
expertise to contribute to the project

19. #nafnext
What, exactly, is an Elevator
Pitch?
An elevator pitch is a brief overview of an
idea for a product, service, or project. The
pitch is so called because it can be delivered
in the time span of an elevator ride (say,
under three minutes).

20. #nafnext
When might I need to use an
elevator pitch?
• To introduce oneself at the beginning of a scholarship
or employment interview or to answer the common
interview question, “Tell me a little about yourself.”
• To promote a club or organization when recruiting
members.
• To explain why a potential customer should support a
fundraiser for your academy.
• To promote a business idea to a possible partner or
investor.

21. #nafnext
Laying the Foundation
• So how do you structure an elevator pitch so that it
works so well in all of these different forms? Think of
your elevator pitch as a foundation on which all of the
communications mentioned above are built. It is
similar to the flat slab at the base of all lego building
sets. That base is the same whether you are building a
house, police station or office building. The key to your
elevator pitch is to get the foundation right.

22. #nafnext
Using a Pitch as an
Introduction.
• The elevator pitch is so important
because it is the first thing that people
ever hear / read about you. Even before
your resume gets into their hands, your
elevator pitch sets the stage for why they
would spend the time to look at your
resume, which leads to the
interview, which leads to the job offer.

23. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Personal Pitches.
1. The pitch should be short.
– The base of your pitch should take no more
than three (3) minutes to recite or 200
words to write

24. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Personal Pitches.
2. The pitch should include the following:
– 1) Who you are plus a credential
• You should think of your credential as either
something that differentiates you from your
peers (e.g. varsity basketball player, army
lieutenant, Rhodes Scholar) or something that
establishes a relationship between you and your
audience (e.g. graduate of same college,
member of same sorority, from the same home
town).
•

25. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Personal Pitches.
2. The pitch should include the following:
– 2) A specific objective
• Get to the point quickly about what you are
looking for or how that person can help. There is
no need to soft shoe around your
objective; however, your objective should be
something that the person can directly facilitate
either by making the decision himself or herself
or connecting you to someone that can get you
closer to that objective.

26. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Personal Pitches.
2. The pitch should include the following:
– 3)How you have demonstrated your interest
• There is a difference between "communicating" your interest
and "demonstrating" your interest. When you demonstrate
your interest, you give examples of things that you have
ALREADY completed or committed to that illustrate this
interest. Don`t just say that "I have always wanted to be an
doctor". You should be able to say, "I have taken pre-med
courses". If you haven`t done anything to demonstrate your
interest, which might be as simple as talking to people with an
expertise, then start doing something!

27. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Personal Pitches.
2. The pitch should include the following:
– 4) Why you are qualified
• This is your chance to communicate what makes you someone
that your audience should consider helping. People typically
like to help those that they feel will be successful in the
process. There are a couple of things you should think about
when highlighting your qualifications:
– - industry relevance
– - leadership
– - expertise
– - pedigree
– - impact

28. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Personal Pitches.
2. The pitch should include the following:
– 5) Give the person two options on how they
can assist
• This is an old sales trick. Always give two options. A person
will often flatly turn you down if you give them one option,
but if you give them two options, then they often commit to
one of them. This is different than communicating your
objective. As I mentioned above, the objective is the end goal;
here you want to communicate how the person can help you
in the process that leads to that end goal.

29. #nafnext
Why Is This an Important Skill
in Business?
The process of formulating an elevator
pitch brings to light many basic things that
an entrepreneur must consider about their
business or idea. Even if you’re not looking
for funding, an elevator pitch can help you
figure out what’s at the core of your
business or idea.

30. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Business Pitches.
1. First, avoid the cookie cutter – “insert
your name here” templates that you’ll
find littered all over the net. You want
your pitch to stand out and be unique,
so give it life and personality by allowing
your pitch to paint a picture or tell a
story.

31. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Business Pitches.
2. If possible, use a tag line yet avoid
sounding cheesy – your elevator pitch
isn’t a sales pitch.

32. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Business Pitches.
3. Stick to hard facts and numbers! Avoid
assumption or BS’ing; you’ve got to
instill integrity in your message. Make
the pitch easy to understand; avoid
acronyms or any jargon that your
intended audience won’t comprehend.

33. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Business Pitches.
4. Focus on the opportunity/problem you’ve
encountered and why your solution is the
most unique in providing value and benefit to
the customer. *This part will comprise the
bulk of your elevator pitch, so be sure and
spend some time figuring out why your
product stands head and shoulders above the
competition.

34. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Business Pitches.
5. If possible, mention the size of your market
and who would be willing to pay for it.
6. If you’re pitching to an investor, mention their
return on investment and how much funding
you’re seeking.

35. #nafnext
Tips For Writing Effective
Business Pitches.
7. Last but not least, make sure it’s less than 3
minutes long. Doing so will force you to trim
the fat from the pitch and only focus on
what’s really at the core of your message.

36. #nafnext
Leading up the Elevator Pitch: The
Lesson
• Identify a problem that requires a solution
 Example: Plastic bags (Think/Pair/Share)
• What are the problems?
• What are possible solutions to the problems?

37. #nafnext
Leading up the Elevator Pitch: The
Lesson
• Develop a viable business idea
 Evaluate 5 products used in own lives
• Are there any problems with the products?
• Is there a feature that could be added or improved?
• Is there a service that could be built around
problems or deficiencies associated with the
product?

38. #nafnext
Leading up the Elevator Pitch: The
Lesson
• Analyze case studies of entrepreneurs as a
source of inspiration, for innovating,
thinking creatively, and identifying new
business ideas.
 Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, Donald
Trump, Sam Walton, Walt Disney

39. #nafnext
Leading up the Elevator Pitch: The
Lesson
• Define elevator pitch as an opportunity to
discuss an idea during a short elevator ride
with a potential business partner or
investor.

40. #nafnext
Leading up the Elevator Pitch: The
Lesson
• Show examples of elevator pitches
 http://www.gottamentor.com/channel.aspx?
chid=DgZHKVBXkECwLeCgRKeCfg==
 Student videos
 Student presentation

41. #nafnext
Experience the Curriculum
• Activity Name – Elevator Pitch
– Course: Entrepreneurship
– Unit # 2: Creating the Business Idea and Analyzing the
Opportunity
– Lesson #3: Identifying and Evaluating Your Ideas
• Skill or concept objective:
– Help students better understand what it means to be
an entrepreneur and what it takes to start a business.
Business Economics

42. #nafnext
Group /
Cooperative Learning
2-3 Minute Elevator Pitch
Innovative Product or Service
Possible Roles:
• Recorder
• Presenters
• Timer
• Foley Artist

43. #nafnext
Group/
Cooperative Learning (10 minutes)
• Choose partners (tables?)
• Assign roles
• Create pitch
• Practice

44. #nafnext
Group/
Cooperative Learning
Share your innovative
product or service idea
with the other groups

45. #nafnext
DISCUSSION
• Think/Pair/Share at tables
• Share ideas with total group

46. #nafnext
Using Elevator Pitches as a
Learning Tool
What are the
advantages?

47. #nafnext
Using Elevator Pitches as a
Learning Tool
What are the
disadvantages?

48. #nafnext
Following the Elevator Pitch: The
Lesson
• In the Entrepreneurship lesson, the elevator
pitch would be used to lead into the actual
culminating project. As a result of the elevator
pitch presentations, students would begin to think
about possible partners and ideas for the course’s
culminating project – Developing a Business Idea.

49. RESOURCES
• “Elevator Pitch 101 – Intro to Writing a 30 Second Elevator Pitch.” The
Closet Entrepreneur, http://theclosetentrepreneur.com/elevator-pitch-
101-intro-to-writing-a-30-second-elevator-pitch (accessed February 10,
2012).
• http://www.naf-curriculum.org/aof/ent/ent_downloads.html#ent2

50. #nafnext
Contact Information
• Applied Finance, Financial
Services, Principles of Finance:
Fran Thew
John I. Leonard High School
4701 10th Ave N.
Greenacres, FL 33463
(561)641-1257
Fran.Thew@PalmBeachSchools.org
• Applied Finance, Financial
Services, Insurance, Personal
Finance, Entrepreneurship:
Richard Molzer
John I. Leonard High School
4701 10th Ave N.
Greenacres, FL 33463
(561)641-1241
Richard.Molzer@PalmBeachSchools.org