I chose to write on Anna Xu’s elevator pitch about The Turning Point by Steve Cutts because of the creativity of the subject matter and the execution of the pitch. I’ll go through all 5 canons in an analysis of her elevator pitch.
Invention: Anna’s choice of using this short film as her civic artifact is very admirable to me, partially because I really enjoyed watching it, but also because it demands good descriptive imagery in her elevator pitch since she can’t actually show the video. Connecting the film’s meaning to the commonplace of “species” is also a great idea, because it allows for stylistic choices like her opener and the closing question. Overall, the invention of this pitch was excellent.
Arrangement: The order of ideas is also well crafted. The hook at the beginning challenges our dissociation between “us” (humans) and “species” (animals) and presents the film’s main idea that “humans ARE animals, a species that live on Earth just like any other animal.” The next description of the video has great imagery and her live presentation got me to understand the video without watching it. She then goes into an analysis of the commonplace and closes with a provocative question about humans going extinct.
Style: I think that someone said in class that her style was both conversational and formal, and I agree that the balance was great. She gets the important points across in a concrete manner, while also adding some pathos “fluff” that makes the audience think about and feel for the animals we are killing.
Memory: Anna did a good job of using her notes to deliver an extemporaneous speech. She had to look down at her notes before each topic, but only needed a quick glance each time, allowing her to make strong eye contact with the audience. She clearly had a strong understanding and familiarity with the subject matter.
Delivery: The delivery of this pitch was one of its strongest features. Anna spoke with clear language and minimal hesitation between sentences, and I don’t remember hearing her say “like” or “um” to find her thoughts. Her pacing was strong as well, as the pitch didn’t feel like it dragged on but it did enough substantial information for me to understand her proposal.
Overall, this was my favorite pitch from Tuesday (though they were all strong). If you see this Anna, great job!
-Asim
This was a very well executed analysis of Anna’s speech as you outlined the 5 cannons perfectly. I agree with everything that you had to say about Anna’s speech, and I believed that hers was one of the best of that day. I think what made me like hers the most was a mixture of her style in addition to her artifact which I found to be very interesting. I am excited to hear her speech on her artifact as I am sure it will be great.
I really liked how you organized this reflection. It allowed me to really process each of the 5 cannons, and break down her speech even more. I really agree on your point about her choosing a video as her artifact- this was very engaging, and aside from its sophisticated meaning, it was also enjoyable to watch. This added a more conversational element, that you also mentioned. If I can remember, she was one of the last presenters to go on her day, yet she still grasped my full attention. She was engaging, had great pacing, and her connections and analysis were genuinely interesting, which was very luring.
This review was structured in a way that was easy to follow. Anna’s speech was done phenomenally thanks to the good execution of all 5 canons. What stood out most to me was her delivery. Her artifact was also super interesting and the video was pretty cool. I’m intrigued to see her full speech in a couple of weeks.