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The Schneider Go Green global finals is a once in a lifetime opportunity everyone longs for. So, before sharing any tips, we would like to congratulate all the teams who made it to the Global Finals. Even if it was the first pitching competition where you participated, you would have already rehearsed a lot and would be ready for the Global Finals.
This time the much-awaited global finals are virtual instead of in person, but Schneider Electric would leave no stone unturned in making your success a shout out and giving you a grand hats-off!
Global finals as the name suggests gives the feeling of a lot of butterflies roaming around in the belly full of excitement but it is equally tough as it is exciting. So let’s put our best efforts, work hard, and play hard.
The global finals are around the corner, so we will share our experience and some last-minute tips from our last year’s experience to help you prepare, compete, and win.
There are many factors that can affect the delivery of your great idea even if you had a lot of rehearsing, one of which is jet lag (which you won’t be suffering because of the global finals will be virtual this time).
Refine, Review, and Refine some more
This is where we would like to start. Make sure your pitch answers the majority of the most obvious questions. Bring as much as clarity you can on the idea and its potential. Use more graphics than text. Rehearse and present in front of as many people as you can and accept honest feedback. Take as much review and feedback from the great Schneider Electric mentors and work immediately on those feedbacks.
Rehearse your pitch and improve your delivery
You need to set your pitch apart from the rest. Your mind should not be preoccupied with the exact written context. Remember the sequence of the slides and speak genuinely keeping everyone engaged. Practice as much as you can and try to bring clarity and simplicity to words.
You can also record a video of yourself and self assess. This will prove to be the best assessment and critic. It will help you in improving your expressions, voice modulation, pitch, and engagement with the audience. This time it’s the digital world, so you don’t need to worry about body language but your face and voice have a lot to say about your confidence. Try to judge yourself. See if you are able to understand each and every word and are interested in taking on further. It will help you to improve a lot.
Isolate yourself a few hours before pitch
Isolating yourself and giving your mind some time to relax and clear all your thought is very important! Try to avoid other engaging tasks and be at your cool. Don’t skip meals on that day. Save energy and be positive, energetic, and confident. Tell yourself that you can easily do this!
How to prepare for Q&A
Most of the winners are decided in this crucial round. You can grow way outward than your peers if you answer using your wit. Q&A round helps the judges to get a clear winner. So prepare yourself for the most common and contextual questions as much as you can. Answer directly. Do not try to avoid or manipulate or go off track. Be on point. Judges are always interested in knowing further plans, roadmap, marketing strategies. How you plan to execute and work around roadblocks is key.
Wake up the jury & attendees -> take control and show what you got
So last year, when we had to pitch in Barcelona, we were the last one to present (according to the team sequence). It was around 5 pm and everyone was tired. The judges have been listening to several presentations the entire day and even the other participants were lethargic after the whole hectic day. We thought it could affect our presentation and hinder our win. So we decided to start with a bang and re-energize everyone!
We left our nervousness and gathered our complete energy while moving towards the stage.
I (Naveen Suman) still remember when Nimisha said ‘We are here to charge you with our batteries’ (as we are a battery startup). Her voice, body language, and expressions got everyone’s attention the very moment she spoke, and the whole crowd became curious. When the day was about to end, it seemed as if it’s just the morning! Everyone got attentive and rejuvenated that we ourselves were charged with the interaction. The audience’s interaction is essential for giving your best presentation, and luckily we were able to garner that which improved our presentation a thousand times.
Everyone was amazed by our idea and were equally amazed by our style of pitching which helped us gain laurels for our country by winning the global finals. Thus, these are some of our very simple but efficient secrets that we wanted to share. Hope it will help you calm your nerves and be fully prepared for the global finals!
Lastly, we would like to say that every one of you is a winner! You have reached this mark after beating a lot of other students and startups so don’t underestimate yourself. Even if you don’t win, remember this is not the end. Just accept feedback and act accordingly. It will eventually help you to win sooner or later. Also, make a great team and connections with the other finalists. This will give you never-ending memories and support. In our case, our fellow participants supported us a lot and we all are good friends till now.
Bonus tip: Remember you are pitching your idea here…you don’t need to sell 🙂
The Schneider Go Green finals are being held on September 10th. To celebrate, the team will be holding a first-ever pre-show live event open to all students worldwide on September 8th! You won’t want to miss it! Register for the show here on LinkedIn or Facebook!
Nimisha and Naveen are the Schneider Go Green 2019 global winners. Check out their winning bold idea in action on their company’s LinkedIn- ALOE ECELL!
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