On the 13th of October the event “Speak up!” took place in Vox Cafeteria & Cocktails. The event was on public speaking and the goal was to help the people with their public speaking skills.
In the beginning we did a short storytelling energizer. In the group everyone said a word and like that we created a story together. It was a lot of fun and a good icebreaker. Afterwards I started with my short presentation on what an Elevator Pitch is. An Elevator Pitch is a short, memorable presentation on an idea, project or product. After the introduction the participants decided in pairs for a “Chindogu” invention. Chindogu is the Japanese art of inventing funny, creative, and impractical gadgets that solve everyday problems in unusual ways. These can be an umbrella for your shoes, glasses with attached funnels for eye drops, a hat with toilet paper, or slippers with built-in dusters. Later they had 20 minutes to prepare an Elevator Pitch. After a short break with snacks the presentations started. It was very fun to watch the people presenting their products in creative ways. They acted, engaged with the audience and implemented some of my tips for presentations. Following each pitch we had a short feedback round, so the people knew what they did well, but also what they could improve next time.
I decided to host this event, because I think it’s important that people feel rather comfortable when speaking in front of an audience. Especially for participation, sharing your ideas, point of views or projects is crucial.
The event was part of the Erasmus Days 2026.
This article is created by Jolanda Hofer - participant in the ESC Project 2026-1-BG01-ESC51-VTJ-000401449 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, co-funded by the Bulgarian National Agency of Erasmus+ Program Human Resource Development Centre.
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