Fluency Class 8 — Presentations & Pitches

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Part 1 – Warm-Up Activity

5 min • Quick icebreaker

Quick Pitch Challenge

30-second pitch: Explain one technical decision you made recently. Why did you choose that approach? What problem did it solve?

Goal: Get comfortable presenting technical ideas concisely under pressure.

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Part 2 – Core Vocabulary

7 min • Essential presentation language

Phrase	Example
I'd like to propose...	"I'd like to propose migrating our API to GraphQL."
The main benefit is...	"The main benefit is reducing the number of API calls by 60%."
Let me walk you through...	"Let me walk you through how this architecture works."
To address your concern...	"To address your concern about migration cost, we can do it incrementally."
The key takeaway is...	"The key takeaway is that this will save 10 hours of development time per week."

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Part 3 – Roleplay Scenarios

30 min • Practice with feedback

Scenario 1: The 2-Minute Technical Pitch

Setup: You're proposing a new testing framework to your team lead.

Roles: Developer (you) presenting to Tech Lead

Your goal: Convince them to allocate time for the migration.

Present the problem with the current approach
Explain your solution and its benefits
Address the obvious objection: "We don't have time for this"

Example Exchange:

You: "I'd like to propose switching from Jest to Vitest for our frontend tests. The main benefit is that test runs will be 3-5x faster, which means faster CI/CD and quicker developer feedback."

Tech Lead: "That sounds good, but we're in the middle of a sprint. We don't have time to rewrite all our tests."

You: "To address your concern about time, we don't need to migrate everything at once. Vitest is compatible with Jest syntax, so existing tests keep working. We can migrate incrementally—new tests use Vitest, and we'll see immediate speed improvements without disrupting current work."

Scenario 2: The Stakeholder Demo

Setup: Demoing a feature to non-technical stakeholders. Something goes wrong during the demo.

Roles: Developer (you) presenting to Product Manager and Stakeholder

Challenge: Handle the failure professionally and maintain confidence.

Start presenting your feature
Simulate a failure (API timeout, bug, etc.)
Recover gracefully and explain what happened without making excuses

Scenario 3: Persuading the Team

Setup: You want the team to adopt a new tool/practice (code reviews, pair programming, documentation standard, etc.).

Roles: You + 2-3 skeptical team members

Goal: Address resistance and build consensus.

Present the problem this tool/practice solves
Show concrete examples or data
Address common objections: "It's extra work," "We tried something similar before," "Our current way works fine"

Scenario 4: Tough Q&A

Setup: You've presented a technical solution. Now face difficult questions.

Roles: You + Skeptical Engineer/Manager asking hard questions

Questions to prepare for:

"What if this doesn't work?"
"How do you know this is better than what we have?"
"What about [edge case you didn't consider]?"
"This seems over-engineered. Why not just [simpler solution]?"

Practice saying "I don't know, but I'll find out" confidently.

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Teacher Toolkit

Facilitation techniques for workshops

🎯 If student is too vague

Interrupt: "Can you give me a specific number or example? Instead of 'faster,' tell me 'X seconds to Y seconds' or 'from 10 API calls to 3.'"

🎯 If student sounds defensive

Coach: "You said 'you might not understand, but...' That sounds defensive. Try reframing: 'Let me explain the technical reasoning...' Assume I'm curious, not hostile."

🎯 If student rushes through

Pause them: "Slow down. Take a breath. I stopped following at [point]. Can you re-explain that part more slowly with an example?"

🎯 If student freezes during failure simulation

Help: "Okay, the demo broke. First, acknowledge it: 'It looks like we're getting a timeout.' Then: 'Let me explain what should happen...' You don't need to fix it live—narrate the intended behavior."

🎯 Create realistic pressure

Roleplay harder objections as scenarios progress: "This sounds expensive," "We tried something like this and it failed," "I don't think you've thought this through." Make them practice handling resistance.

📝 Homework – Choose One

Option 1: Record a Technical Pitch

Record a 3-minute video pitch proposing a technical improvement for your current project. Include: problem statement, proposed solution, benefits, and how you'd handle the "we don't have time" objection. Focus on clarity and confidence. (Video submission)

Option 2: Presentation Slide Deck

Create a 5-slide presentation for a technical proposal: (1) Problem, (2) Solution Overview, (3) Benefits/Metrics, (4) Implementation Plan, (5) Q&A Preparation. Write speaker notes for each slide explaining what you'd say. (Slides + notes)

Option 3: Q&A Preparation Guide

Think of a technical decision you've made or would like to propose. Write 8-10 tough questions someone might ask about it, then write thoughtful answers. Include at least one "I don't know, but here's how I'd find out" response. (Q&A document, 400-500 words)

Option 4: Demo Script

Write a script for demoing a feature to non-technical stakeholders. Include: setup explanation, step-by-step walkthrough, what to say if something breaks, and how you'd summarize the value. Practice explaining without jargon. (Script, 300-400 words)

🎤 Class 8 – Presentations & Pitches