Running

head: Shark Tank

Shark Tank Exercise in Presentation Skills

Justina M. Gaddy
University of Southern California

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Shark Tank Exercise in Presentation Skills

In the popular television show Shark Tank, would-be inventors brave the some of their
toughest critics as they pitch product ideas to a panel of highly discerning venture capitalists
(known as the sharks). Within a strict time limit, inventors must describe the product and
convince the panel of its market viability with the hope of securing their interest and, ultimately,
funding (Newman, 2014).
In a simulation modeled after the show Shark Tank, the class divided into self-selected
teams of 5-6 students to invent and pitch a fictional product to panel of alumni sharks. After
one week of preparation, our team presented and pitched Living Histories, a fictional
documentary service that catered to affluent baby boomers. Living Histories core offering was a
fully produced documentary about anyone willing to pay for the service.
Each step of this simulation project, from ideation, to creation, to pitch required that our
team employ several persuasive presentation strategies outlined in the assigned readings.
Reflecting on the elements of effective presentations, Sonja Foss and Karen Foss, emphasize that
the importance of knowing the purpose of the communication and its intended impact on
audiences. This is referred to as an interactional goal (Foss, S. & Foss, K., 2012, p. 22). The
five primary interactional goals in a communicator may have are: 1) assert individuality 2) to
articulate a perspective 3) to build community 4) to seek adherence 5) to discover knowledge and
belief (Foss, S. & Foss, K., 2012, p. 23).
Our group activated interactional goal-driven communication skills as early as the
ideation phase. As the team gathered to discuss a method for selecting which idea would
ultimately presented, we did so with purpose of discovering knowledge among group members.
Each participant was encouraged to share ideas about how the product might iterate. Not only

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did this method give group members a chance to articulate their view and contribute to the group,
but it also created consensus about the product description and presentation goals. This type of
collaborative ideation process is also endorsed by Robert Cialdini (2007) who argues that such
group decision-making will not only yield more inventive solutions but also make team members
feel more valued and connected to the solution.
When designing our pitch for Living Histories, our team adhered to three core purposes
advocated by Frederic Crane (2010) in his discussion of entrepreneurial promotional strategy: 1)
to spread awareness, 2) to gain endorsement and 3) encourage action. These strategies resemble
the interactional goals, articulating perspective and seeking adherence. In other words, for an
effective Shark Tank pitch, our team needed to memorably describe the product and move shark
panelists should invest in it.
Chip Heath and Dan Heath (2008) suggest several key techniques for creating memorable
and convincing presentations including using storytelling. Such stories provide audiences with
emotional and concrete examples of a point or argument. To this end, our group opened our
presentation a fictional story about a man named Martin who recently lost his mother and
regretted never capturing her personal stories and memories.
Just as a good story might do, a good presentation sustains audience interest by
cultivating narrative tension - creating conflict by presenting a problem and then providing the
resolution (Heath & Heath, 2008). With this in mind, our team organized our presentation around
a series of questions to which our product was the answer. After the first presenter finished with
the story she asked, How do you capture memories? The answer to this question was then
provided by the next speaker who, in turn, closed with yet another question to be answered by
the following speaker.

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As a result of our pitch, our group was able to secure an investor. The investor and
another shark related with personal stories of aging loved ones whose memory they too wished
to capture. One criticism, however, was that our group members attempted to engage the entire
room instead of focusing on the panelists. Nancy Duarte (2012) supports this point, by
suggesting that knowing your audience is among the most important part of a persuasive
presentation. It is the audience for whom the presentation is given and it is the audience who
will determine its success.

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References
Cialdini, R. B. (2007, May). How to get the best solutions from your team. Harvard
Management Update.
Crane, F. G. (2010). Marketing for entrepreneurs: Concepts and applications for new ventures.
London: SAGE.
Duarte, N. (2012). HBR guide to persuasive presentations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business
Review Press.
Foss, S. K., & Foss, K. A. (2012). Inviting transformation: Presentational speaking for a
changing world. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New
York: Random House.
Newman, A. A. (2014, September 17). For casting of Shark Tank, cities are smaller, but ideas
stay big. The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/business/for-shows-casting-cities-are-smaller-butideas-stay-big.html