Yahoo! intern David Rabee returns to 'Classroom' to learn the 21 steps of persuasion
I returned to 'Classroom' Internet Week Europe to listen to Ellen Bokkinga help her audience understand the importance of verbalising business ideas properly and provide a 21-step grid (for the 21st century, I don't know if that was a joke or not) to help entrepreneurs with this process.
21 Step Programme
Even though this was the same 'Classroom' I had attended before, to my utter amazement it was set up in a completely different manner. Honestly, it looked more like a restaurant setting then a classroom, with groups of audience members sitting at 5 or 6 different round tables. I must say, it was a good setting for an interactive presentation to take place.
Bokkinga aimed to overcome the bridge between one's head and paper when presenting a business idea. She asked us to start by writing our entrepreneurial ideas down. I made an awful one up on the spot. A three storey building:
- Bottom floor would be a £1 store
- Second floor with everything priced at £50
- Third floor with everything priced at £100
I guess the point about verbalisation being challenging was valid, as that idea sounded worthy of a noble prize in my head. She then told us to write down our ideas as if we were talking to an investor. This kind of backfired for those who wrote the exact same thing down but many other audience members saw a significant difference.
Bokkinga handed out the 21-step verbalising grid which aimed to help entrepreneurs break down their core ideas through the use of a specific questionnaire. Two audience members had completely contrasting opinions about the effectiveness of the grid. The first was adamant that it was a complicated way of reaching something very simple (awkward). The other applauded the grid, enthusiastically arguing that verbalisation was constantly a challenge for her due to a 'severe' case of dyslexia (she stated she was dyslexic, I did not just come to that conclusion myself). General positivity towards the grid blossomed with the concept that business ideas could be defragmented for sheer substance before time and money is invested.
If I were to make my three-storey, money making machine, I would probably use her grid, at least in the early stages.
-- David Rabee
See David's previous experience in 'Classroom': 'Business Models Are the New Unit of Design'
David Rabee recently graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Business Management and Communications.
