Elevator Pitch

An Elevator Pitch is a short, engaging presentation of the main elements of your research. It concisely sums up what you do and why it is important, and it uses plain language to be understood by an audience unfamiliar with your work.

As an ACAP research student, you may deliver presentations in class, at a research day, or at seminars and conferences, so speaking confidently in public about your research is extremely important. An Elevator Pitch allows you to develop your skills in academic communication and increase your capacity to succinctly explain your research in a language appropriate to a given audience.

Process

You will make a presentation of your research to your ACAP peers, supervisors, teaching staff and other interested stakeholders and then accept questions. Although you have been focused on the details in your research, an elevator pitch presents only the gist of your work.  Think of an elevator pitch as enough to catch someone’s interest and potentially start a conversation. If they want to know more details, they will ask.

Format

  • The presentation will be a maximum of 3 minutes, and you will accept questions for up to 5 minutes
  • A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. You will, therefore, not be able to include much textual content, but should consider one key message or graphic.
  • If you do include text, it should be no more than 5 or 6 lines, with heading 36pt or larger, and body text 28pt or larger.
  • You cannot use slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description and no electronic media like sound and video files
  • The slide is to be displayed from the beginning of the presentation.
  • No additional props/equipment are permitted.