I usually start mine with:
"I am a mentor for a competitive high school robotics team"
That always seems to get their attention, because their response is typically to look at me and say "What??"
Then I get to roll into the pitch about FIRST robotics. A little bit of competition description, a lot of the inspiration angle, a laundry list of benefits for students/community/mentors etc.
Choose from one or more of the following:
Competition- Robot teams form alliances to accomplish a challenge. The alliances change each round to encourage "coopertition" (this one encourages further discussion about what coopertition is).
- Imagine 50 teams of robotics students in a sports arena with all the glitz and glamour of a rock concert, its exciting, you have to experience it to believe it.
- You can walk around the pits and talk with the students as they work on their robots. You never have meant a greater bunch of students, they are in their element and love to tell you all about it.
Inspiration- Its all about inspiring students in science and technology. Then, in a fake whisperThe robot competition is just a means to an end.
- Its a pretty cool concept, bringing together students and mentors, giving them a challenge and common interest, and everyone becomes a winner.
Laundry List of Benefits- Its fun and inspiring
- Great opportunity for project based learning
- Another way to reach out to students that may have been left behind
- It makes us all smarter
Of course we always carry tri-fold brochures with us to have a take away for the person. I'll link in the tri-fold later, once I get it up to CD-Media