By Anna Petrilli, Class of 2025
At PitchCamp, the one-day workshop hosted by the Kilts Center, students learned how to supercharge their presentation skills. Participants got hands-on experience blending communication science, neuroscience, improv techniques, and storytelling frameworks. The workshop gave students new insights to elevate their ability to deliver powerful presentations, pitches, and proposals and connect with their audience with confidence. Anna Petrilli shares what she learned.
Why did the Kilts Center’ PitchCamp workshop interest you?
I immediately signed up when I saw the PitchCamp workshop, as I have attended several events hosted by the Kilts Center and they have all been really helpful. Honing my presentation skills is something I want to develop and practice, as I recognize having great communication abilities is a crucial component to my career success. I plan to become a brand manager, and an effective presentation or pitch can help me gain buy-ins quickly from stakeholders on key business decisions. In the long term, I envision myself as the CEO of a company, and I will need to give many pitches to stakeholders. Giving a great presentation can not only demonstrate my leadership skills, but also provide a platform for me to answer questions and seek feedback from my audience.
Was there a specific insight you gained from the workshop that you believe would be valuable for others?
I learned a very useful 3-part framework for preparing presentations. Identify what you want the audience to “Know, Feel, Do.” The “Know” part is providing context and the scale of the project. “Feel” conveys the vision of the project and gets the listeners excited. “Do” is to clearly communicate the action plan and what you need assistance in. In my experience of giving and receiving presentations, the “Feel” aspect is sometimes missing. It is a critical piece to help the audience understand why they need to care and start listening to the topic.
Were there any unexpected benefits or outcomes from the workshop that stood out to you?
There was a particularly interesting improv exercise where we formed groups of eight members and each team had to synchronize their hand movements without verbal communication. Anyone in the group could lead the hand movements for an unspecified length of time, and once they stopped, another team member would pick up leading the hand movements. It took a while for everyone to get synchronized and there were times when two people tried to lead movements at the same time, which interrupted the existing flow and unity of the group. This exercise helped me visualize communication and how an effective presentation can help people get on the same page about an idea or a project.
Can you highlight any specific aspects of the workshop that you found particularly effective or engaging?
In the second half of the workshop, we formed small teams and were asked to deliver a three minute presentation together. We were given a slide deck of preselected images and were tasked with pitching a story based on these images. This task helped me learn how to distill my message and connect the dots from one slide to the next. I also realized that no matter how many words or charts there are for a slide in an actual business setting, I should still focus on delivering one key message for each slide. On top of that, I can use storytelling to weave all slides into one overall key message or request.
How has the workshop influenced your perspective on your career path?
PitchCamp has helped me feel more confident in my ability to give great presentations, and I learned a concrete framework to tell a story in a way that is audience-focused. I highly recommend anyone who is even remotely interested in improving their pitching skills to sign up for the PitchCamp workshop in the future. I am certain that you can hone your skills and learn some tips that you didn’t know before!
