(Day 27) 28th April - The Client Pitch

Today the group work came to an end, we presented our final ideas, strategies and presentation to the class and experts. There was five groups all together, each with their own specialisms for CPDs. There was BIM, Sensory Design, Sensory Design for UX in Retail, Design Management and Conversation. 

Due to protection, only authorised users are able to view the stream of the session. Click here to view the stream, BCU students and staff should be able to view this. Our presentation is at 1hr 9min, followed by feedback from experts. I usually prefer to volunteer to go first for presentations, as I prefer the over and done. Otherwise I tend to get more nervous, compare the work more and overthink. However, as each group approached the group different with different specialisms, I felt more relaxed. 

I was really pleased with the outcome, I was proud of the group, our work and myself! Presentations are not usually a struggle for me, I can channel my nervous well and as we had prepared what we were saying I felt confident. I could see Anahita shaking and Tanisha looking nervous, however, they did amazingly. Especially considering during Tanisha's section and demonstration we experience technically difficulties. Unfortunately, the video did not play, therefore was not aligned with what she had prepared. She began to feel nervous, beginning to feel thrown. I was prepared to take over and improvise, however, Hannah encouraged Tanisha to continue and it gave strength to the pitch. I made some quick notes whilst the session went on.

  • Working with a client, felt miserable and overly critical 
  • Felt like the idea of work place was slightly missed 
  • Really happy with the feedback, all said the presentation was confident and professional. Marketing strategy was highlighted as a strong point with the detail and reasoning. Nick said it was clear we identified the problems and opportunities whilst also offering multiple solutions. 

The first bullet point was during other presentations, I felt that the expert was heavily critical, lacked praise which I think is needed too. After the presentation when critiquing our work, it felt like our idea had been missed. This was a learning curve to consider content further, as two experts felt we had focused on students. In fact, we had mentioned students more to highlight we weren't neglecting them. This felt slightly frustrating for me, as I knew what we had but unfortunately was missed. Overall, the feedback was great. Experts said our presentation was professional, confident and the marketing strategy seemed to be a highlight as it was 'throughly considered'. It was also noted that we 'raised challenged whilst providing solutions'. 

After the presentation, Tanisha praised Hannah and I. She said it was thanks to us two and we did a great amount of work. This was great to hear, this project was a great learning experience for us all. Plenty of highs and lows! 

I am not going to lie, group work for me can be difficult - I like being independent and hate relying on others. When this module was briefed I thought 'OH FFS' basically, because I kind of knew what I needed to work on and knew for when I went into the world of work. This brief gave me the opportunity to learn and practice. I do believe I have become a stronger team member. My EQ and PQ skills have progressed, however, I do still have a lot to learn and will be using Jo Owen's as a guide! One major learning experience for me was communication and patience, whilst I still am an impatient person, I am learning to manage it better. 

After the pitch today, we had a group discussion on managing expectations which feels like a good end note for this log. Whilst you learn to manage your expectations in the team (such as ways of working, different standard levels), consideration of stakeholder expectations is interesting. For example, we were expected to costs our CPDs, this felt like a focus point for the client. However, it was not empathised or even brief to us. We eventually were given a ballpark figure for a costing of a tutor to use, however other groups did not have this discussion. 

The groups were also encouraged to speak of their challenges, communication was the main point. However, no groups appeared to have had difficult discussions or debates. It is interesting to note, we were the only all female group bar one group of two. We also consisted of two September intakes and two January intakes. So why was it just our group? Was this because the other groups didn't feel as passionate or comfortable? As an all female group, did we have more challenges? The other female group was two September intakes, was this a factor to consider? I personally felt it was down to our group being strong, opinionated and passionate women. However, all our discussion came from a good place, the eagerness to succeed, which is not a bad thing! 

Overall, the journey has been good and I have learnt a lot during the brief. I will now start to shift more focus to my case study - Women in Leadership: A Case Study into the Underrepresentation of Women in the Private Sector. I will use on action reflection to note my experience of working with all women. 

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