1. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Finding the story How to make your story interesting

2. Stages in writing Gather information Organize Write Rewrite

3. Four questions in organizing What is my subject? What am I trying to say about it? How will I say it? Have I said it well enough?

4. What is my subject? Collect information  Make notes  Soak up information like a sponge  Think of interesting angles while you are gathering information  Write a formal report

5. What am I trying to say? Discuss the subject with someone  Tell him/her a story  Explain what happened  Give only the information the listener needs to understand

6. The elevator pitch Imagine you are in a lift with Bill Gates  What would you tell him about your project?  What is the most important thing to say?  You have 2 minutes! Used with investors

7. Nine Cs of an effective elevator pitch 1.ConciseAs few words as possible, but no fewer 2.ClearYour grandparents can understand it 3.CompellingExplains the problem 4.CredibleExplains how you solved the problem 5.ConceptualNot unnecessary detail 6.ConcreteSpecific and tangible 7.CustomizedAddresses audience’s interests 8.ConsistentSame basic message 9.ConversationalNot complete, but aims to interest audience in more info

8. How will I say it? Four ways to start  Write a summary sentence  Write some possible leads  Write an ending  Write without notes

9. How will I say it? Make a short list of 7-8 categories your information falls into  Eg, Situation, Problem, Production, Intervention, Results, Solution Label your notes with these categories Sort the notes according to category Sort the categories into a logical order

10. Have you said it well enough? Reread what you have written  Is it in the right order?  Is it interesting? Does it grab the reader’s attention?  Does it say anything new or useful?

11. Have you said it well enough? Ask someone else to read it  Ask them to be critical of the structure, organization, logical flow  Ask them if the piece is interesting, easy to read  Ask them what they learned after reading

12. Sources Jane Harrigan. 1992. Finding the story. Writer’s Digest Apr 1992, pp 36-9 BBC SXSW (click on the video) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7947729.stm BBC SXSW http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7947729.stm Youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq0tan49rmc Youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq0tan49rmc O’Leary: Elevator Pitch Essentials O’Leary