Last week, we discussed “elevator speeches”, which contain introductions to a person’s project and appeals for people to be involved–all in 30 seconds or less. The goal is that the information contained in the speech is compelling and clear so that the listener is intrigued and not confused.
The sample speech that I’ll write below is meant for a student or alumni audience. As I’ve continued to do work on my project, I’ve realized that I will need to appeal to current students and alums to build on the research I’ve done this summer. Without further ado, here is one version of my elevator speech.
“Hey guys, my name is Lauren White, and I have been researching and learning about digital tools this summer as a Digital Scholarship Summer Fellow in Musselman Library. Based on what I’ve learned about digital scholarship, I have created an interactive website using Scalar and Timeline JS. By using these kinds of digital tools, we can make the humanities more public facing and inviting.
Specifically, my project places instances of social justice at Gettysburg from 1980-1990 on a digital timeline. I hope to expand the date range in the coming school year. Many of you have supported my involvement in this project, thank you so much for doing so! I’d love to collect more stories to build on my project. In order for this to happen, I hope you’ll share your experiences and tell others about the timeline. By doing this, we can document and encourage student activism at the college.
I know that this is a lot of information. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Good job! You definitely capture your voice in this.