Business Students Learn To Improvise

A Harvard Business School student presented to a large group assembled in Aldrich Hall a slide of his new product: “miniature fast food meals,” small enough to hold in the palm of one’s hand.

“In 10 years, half our country will be dead because of obesity, so here’s our market,” said first-year student Adam R. Ludwin, moving to the next slide, which he had never seen before.

“Skinny people who surf,” he described the next image, without missing a beat.

Such was the nature of The B.S. Contest—with B.S. standing for “business speaking”—sponsored by the Business School’s Public Speaking Club. The club hosted the final round of the event, with a format based on an improv game, for the first time yesterday. Over 40 people auditioned in the preliminary round, but only eight made it through to compete in the finals.

Each of the contestants had seven minutes to present seven slides, some with ridiculous pictures of the imaginary business’ market, management, or competition.

In his pitch, Justin Pasquariello explained why his management team was made up of finger puppets.

“This way you reduce the number of managers necessary,” said Pasquariello, a joint Business School and Kennedy School student. “It’s pretty simple too, so the management will often agree.”

Pasquariello was later crowned the crowd favorite.

Things got even more “awesome and awkward,” as organizer Bill W. Heil put it, later in the evening, when the final contestant, John W. Coleman, spoke intimately with the small group of judges—his potential investors.

“We can hang out like a warm shower and get up in the morning and know this wasn’t just a professional relationship,” he said, donning a bathrobe and pulling a cigar from his pocket.

A few minutes later, the judges named Coleman the champion, joking that his gifts of cigars and whiskey hadn’t hurt his chances.

Coleman and other contestants said they enjoyed the experience, despite its absurdity.

“I’m overjoyed, though I have mixed feelings about winning a [B.S.] competition,” Coleman said, breaking into laughter.

After the event, Public Speaking Club executives said they were immensely pleased with the outcome. Attendance was high and the contestants were funny, they noted.

“I laughed a lot—that part I liked the best,” said Ben Reno-Weber, who helped organize the contest. “HBS doesn’t have enough opportunities for a good belly laugh.”