The document outlines a presentation given to students about entrepreneurship. It includes an agenda that covers the presenter's background and journey with JA (Junior Achievement), a definition of entrepreneurship, and an interactive learning exercise. The presenter tells their story of participating in a JA program, the challenges they faced and learning outcomes. They discuss how the program changed them and why they stayed involved. The presentation aims to inspire students and empower them to consider entrepreneurship for their future.
4. +
The Changing Lives Campaign
A European youth initiative
Aiming to:
Inspire
Challenge
Empower
5. +
Me? - background
(Age)
(name of e.g. high school and university)
(current profession)
(the quote that best describes your approach to life)
9. +
After the Programme
(Who am I now)
(How did I change)
(How did I stay involved = alumni )
(Why did I stay involved)
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Before the break
Never forget what a little motivation and inspiration can do
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Learning by doing
Challenge
Leaders are made not born
Talent is the result of hard work,
not innate abilities
Success is a journey, not a destination
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What are your options?
Doctor, lawyer, teacher, contractor, coach…
Or Entrepreneur
Have any of you every considered becoming an entrepreneur?
Working for yourself or for somebody else
17. +
Entrepreneurship Fact-check
Large multinational companies run the economy – FALSE
more than 99% of all European businesses are SMEs
To be an entrepreneur you have to invent something
completely new – FALSE
Entrepreneurship is to create a new company – FALSE
European Commission: Entrepreneurship is 'the mind set and
process needed to create and develop economic activity within a
new or an existing organisation'.
18. +
The up and downs
Advantages Disadvantages
Freedom & flexibility Challenging & Tough
Be your own boss Never ending workday
Work with your passion
Feel ownership in you success
Fun
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Is it right for you?
How would you like to work?
With what would you like to work?
In what environment do you see yourself?
What role do you see yourself in?
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A few facts
JA-YE Alumni
are 4-5 times more likely to start a business
launch startups with higher survival rates
are more employable
earn higher salaries
21. +
Thank for your time
Be in touch: (email address)
Editor's Notes
Start out by explaining which topics you will cover in your presentation.Tip #1: it’s always nice to establish a dialog instead of a monolog when doing a presentation. One way to do this is by asking questions. To get a feel of the students the following questions could be used: What do they expect out of the session today? What do they already know about you? Do they all know what JA is? Further along in the presentation good probing questions could be: What do they think of the JA programme they are participating in (the good and the bad)? Have they ever considered becoming entrepreneurs? (why? why not?) Are they concerned about the entrance into the job market in Europe?
Section 1
Before going on presenting yourself let the students know that you are here as part of a larger European initiative, carried out by former student who would like to give back. If you want to you can show the promotional video (see link)
Giving the students the background information you find relevant plus information about what you are currently doing will give them a better idea of who is standing in front of them.Tip #2: Powerpoints should only carry the minimum amount of text needed for the students to follow your structure - if you write everything down in the slides why should the students listen to you?
Here you have a chance to reflect on who you were before the programme and share this with the student. Plus sharing the story of how you first got involved in the programme and what your first thoughts were.Tip #3: remember to add photos and other illustration to make the presentation more visual and fun (e.g. add old funny pictures of yourself here)
Add the name of the JA programme you did in the top Now is your chance to share your JA story (e.g. include if relevant: how did you get your idea? How was it to go to the first trade fair? What were your personal milestones? How was it to first present your idea? How did your team go about getting help? If you did well – what was that like? If you did poorly – what did that teach you? What was it like working in a team? What did you learn about yourself)Feel free to use as many slides as you want telling your story and again remember that a picture can tell a thousand words.Tip #4: the most compelling way to tell a story is to make it personal – if you, for example, tell the story of you winning or losing a competition it is often not the winning or the losing that makes the story interesting but how you experienced it. Adding short anecdotes can have the same effect, making your story come alive to the audience.
Have gone through your story you might want to take a moment to reflect on what your main challenges were and what you learned from these.Example of challenges: Working in a team with friends, presenting in front of a crowd, finding the perfect idea, keeping motivation high, writing a business planExamples of Learning Outcomes: You have to be honest and set boundaries, the more you present the better you get (just go for it), there is no such thing as a perfect idea, motivation is crucial, business plans are just about getting what is in your head down on paper (it can be a great tool to understand your company better).Tip #5: Make sure you tailor your presentation to your audience (are they in the JA programme? Where in the process are they? What is their age and English proficiency? The answers to all these questions will direct what you should focus on in your presentation). Before any presentation take time and think about the audience, putting yourself in theirs shoes and think about what will interest them.
As a way to end this section sum up where you are now and how you have strayed involved with the alumni network (if you have)Tip #6: Presentation basics: don’t fidget with any objects while presenting (people might start focusing on the keys in your pocket instead of what you are saying), don’t look too much at the powerpoint, don’t avoid eye contact (at best it will only make you seem more nervous and worst more dishonest), don’t stand completely still when presenting (a little movement can make you feel more relaxed and the audience more at ease).
The video is a motivational talk clipped together from 40 movies. It can be used as a fun thing to do before or right after a break. ‘If my story hasn’t inspired you already – maybe this can ’
Section 2
Please see the challenge suggestions in the accompanying material
After the exercise it makes sense to take a minute to reflect on the task and how the students experienced it.Tip #6: as a general rule of thumb the more the students are engaged the more they learn, this is what ‘learning by doing’ is all about, so try to make sure that all take an active role and if relevant you could have them reflect on what role they took.
Hopefully the challenge that the students have just done have taught them something, you can now round of this part of the presentation by showing this video with some more leadership tips and encourage them to be aware that they can learn a lot by simply staying open to the lessons all around us.
Section 3
The idea with this entrepreneurship talk is not to ‘sell’ being an entrepreneur. It is simply to make the students aware that this is an option and to demystify the concept of entrepreneurship.One way to start this section would be to talk about whether or not the students have even considered this as a career option (why?/why not?).Tip #7: Studies have confirmed that people need breaks; their attention simply won’t last the whole presentation through. Small break can be enough 2-5 min just enough to refocus.
Many peoples understanding of entrepreneurship is limited or flawed, therefore, a slide to discuss some of the possible misconceptions surrounding the concept might be interesting.‘more than 99% of all European businesses are SMEs’Arguable one of the best kept secrets is that the European economy is build almost entirely on small and medium sized enterprises. This makes it clear that without entrepreneurs the economy would suffer greatly.Quote form European CommissionEntrepreneurship can be seen as a mind set and a process, this is important because it allows us to see that being entrepreneurial is about more than staring up a company.
To give the students an idea of what being an entrepreneur is all about, discussing the advantages and disadvantages often highlighted in this profession (now we’re zooming in on the entrepreneurship as a career, not just as a mind-set)Tip #8: Keeping the audiences attentions is always a challenge, one of the way to not loose the audience it to try and make your content not too hard or too easy,
Choosing a path in life is all about finding out what is right for you. This slide is just to advice the students find out what is right for this. This presentation is juts trying to make sure that the students do not rule entrepreneurship out based on false assumptions.Tip #9: If you feel that you are losing your audience at any time it can be a good idea to reiterate why they should listen. Here are some examples:‘I have gone through the JA process and I wish I had known then what I know now, ergo giving you my advice will save you a lot of time and effort’’‘’Most people never even dare to consider becoming an entrepreneur, by doing this many people miss out on a life with excitement and engagement’
If you are presenting to students currently receiving entrepreneurship education from JA-YE it makes sense to end on the fact that the training that they are receiving will make them more likely to start up their own company, be successful in this. Furthermore, even if they choose a more traditional path the entrepreneurial mindset they have cultivated will make them more employable.
Make sure to thank the students for their time and participations, let them know that you are there to help and that they can contact you if they want to. Tip #10: Time management is one of the absolute hardest elements of presenting, so make sure you run through your presentation before hand and have a clear idea of how long you have for each sections. And remember everything takes longer than you think