Understand your audience and tailor your message accordingly when planning a 2-minute speech.

Every Thursday morning my alarm goes off at 6am. I get up, shower and dress in a sleepy daze before cycling over to Covent Garden in central London, UK. Instead of a cup much-needed coffee to wake me up, I do some public speaking. It’s the best morning wake up you’ll ever get.

A few years ago I joined Toastmasters, an international group of public speakers that help each other develop their speaking skills. It’s a group that feeds on evaluations; every Thursday morning all speakers at our club (Early Bird Speakers) are evaluated so that everyone can learn from someone else’s performance. In April I was tasked with a two-minute elevator pitch, addressing and inspiring the UK’s brightest A-level students. Here’s what I told them:

https://youtu.be/Ib4No3zOMjg

I’m not sure whether this would have inspired the nation’s A-level students, but it inspired me to think about how to properly prepare an elevator pitch and how they benefit scientists. With some effort, scientists and researchers can compose an elevator speech to sell their science to a classroom full of 6 year olds, a neighbour, a potential employer or a politician. Continue reading →