Chairman’s Award: Preparation Team 135

Team Identity Team culture Try to make everything fit the brand Otherwise, what’s the point? Students, coaches, and mentors

Community Outreach FLL, FTC, FRC mentoring Volunteering Hosting/attending events ➔ Expanding efforts ➔ Future submissions

Theme Don’t get married to one theme Decision of the Chairman’s group

Submission Executive summary Essay Video Presentation

How To Essay Structure and flow Time Drafts, Revisions, etc. Summary Fun facts Video Emotional content

Practice With parents, mentors, other students Many many times Smooth, fluid

Talking Points Know everything about everything Be unique Limit buzzwords-- If used make relative

Interview Interested Motivated Knowledgeable Focused Enthusiastic Good speakers

Attractive Team Don’t wait for the judges to come to you Say “Hi!” Friendly, positive and enthusiastic; good vibes Equal Opportunity; Not just upper-classmen and/or females

Embodying FIRST Robotics Competition© Selfless Help others before helping yourself Enthusiasm Chairman’s is not won, but earned

Chairman’s Presentation THE CYBER BLUE APPROACH

Select the Presentation Team  Identify students with a genuine interest and ability to prepare and present (avoid the drive team if possible).  These presenters will have needed to work with the team who wrote the essay.  We generally identify 4-6 presenters.

Determine What to Include  Identify 8-10 key topics directly from the essay for presenting.  Rank these topics in a few different ways  Most important  Biggest impact  Most unique  Newest to oldest  Use these rankings to determine which topics to use in the presentation. *We recommend 5-6 “top” topics to have the best impact*

Create the Presentation Draft  Create a bulleted list of points for each topic.  Create sentences and paragraphs for each topic.  Create an introduction and conclusion (1-2 sentences each)

Read the Presentation  Practice reading the presentation out loud.  Time the presentation (determine if cuts need to be made or items can be added).  Make adjustments to the content.  Have different presenters read different sections.  Decide the best mix of 3 students and identify a back-up presenter.

Practice, Practice, Practice  Assign specific topics to the 3 presenters.  Practice individually and “own” those topics.  Memorize the material.  Practice together and coordinate cues.  Get the timing down below the minimum.

Identify “Props”  Binder with photos/news  Display boards  Video  Slideshow

Practice More!  Practice with the props.  Practice in front of your team.  Practice in an empty room.  Practice for your Principal.  Practice for a group of three “judges”.  Practice answering questions and determine who will answer what topics.

Present! YOU ARE READY FOR THE PRESENTATION TO THE JUDGES!

The Chairman’s Award - Document Team 4272 Maverick Boiler Robotics

Length Maximum: 10,000 characters (spaces and punctuation included) – Around 4 pages Start without paying attention to the length – First “complete draft” 2015 was 25,000 characters Cutting down on length – No double spacing or indentations – Find superfluous punctuation and combine sentences – Save “substance” that is cut for possible future use

Structure of your essay No one way to write this essay List of outreach/team elements Introduction and conclusion paragraphs Themes – Connecting Chairman’s elements Sectioning off essay Ensuring transitions

Team 4272 – 2015 Chairman’s Essay Structure INTRODUCTION – What can a robot do? A robot can assist FIRST teams A robot can educate a community A robot can help the environment A robot can reach out to the community A robot can reach out within a school CONCLUSION - A robot can do anything

Essay Timeline CREATE ONE – Drafts due – Editing days – Who’s in charge of what Make essay due 1 week before deadline Merits of starting before kickoff

Executive Summary Pay attention to it! 12 sections with a 500 character limit Mention things left out of essay Paragraph form vs. bullet points

Pictures 4 Pictures Types – Single pictures – Graphs and charts – Collages

Chairman’s Award Submission Definitions and Limitations FIRST team – Started/mentored/assisted/provided published resources FIRST event – Run/host/assist Don’t “overspin” Make sure to stick to last 1-5 years (with emphasis on last 1-3)