Masterclass – Pitching your research

Ever listened to a presentation of a classmate or a professor and thought; this is so incredibly boring? Well Hans van de Water who instructed the Masterclass “Pitching your research” on Thursday the 18th of May had the same thought. He was “sick and tired of listening to bad research presentations”. Together with Toon Verlinden he created a company The Floor Is Yours where they write blog posts and give workshops to improve those dreadful scientific presentations. After a very slick and well prepared presentation from Hans himself the masterclass started.

This class covered the most effective ways to get interest and funding from companies. The major problems with pitching research is that people want to fit too much information in the little time available besides the fact that there is often a lack of enthusiasm. During the masterclass things like an “elevator pitch” were explained. The group was divided into groups where the students were asked to present their prepared pitch. After several exercises instructed by Hans the students had to apply the things they learned and present their pitch again. Students noticed that their second pitch was much stronger and convincing than the first one. Nonetheless this skill doesn’t change by night. “The moral of the story” said Hans at the end of this masterclass “is that presentation skills just need practice, practice and then a little bit more practice”.