Ace Your Video Essays
Quick! You have 60-90 seconds to tell a stranger who you are, what you stand for, and where you're going. Are you ready? MBA admissions committees are increasingly requiring video essays so they can hear directly from applicants and evaluate how they think and communicate. You won't always know the questions in advance, but that doesn't mean you have to arrive unprepared. In this session, you'll learn how to: *Understand what video essay prompts are REALLY asking *Build talking points and a story bank for likely questions *Structure responses that answer the question and showcase your personality *Communicate with confidence and authenticity, sounding practiced but not scripted By the end of this session, you'll have talking points and a story bank starter kit, frameworks for structuring your answers, a better understanding of how you show up on camera, and a plan to continue practicing ahead of the submission deadline. After practicing your video essay responses, you'll also be more prepared for networking events and interviews.
What's included
We'll start with cold questions to establish a baseline. From there, we'll draft your main talking points and your story bank for common questions. I'll share feedback on your presentation style and discuss how you can use your talking points and story bank in a live setting. Finally, we'll run through another set of questions and discuss next steps for your practice plan.
- Talking points and a story bank starter kit for common questions
- Experience answering video essay questions under pressure
- Actionable feedback on story structure and delivery
Meet your expert
Olivia B.
Professional Storyteller | $700k+ in T10 Scholarships | Kellogg MBA
I almost didn't apply to business school. But now, as a recent Kellogg graduate, I'm so grateful for the experiences I've had: interning at a VC firm and a startup, working with the CEO of a Chicago-based CPG company, teaching yoga, learning finance, and traveling to 7+ countries. So whether you're trying to decide if business school is right for you or if you're ready to take the next step, I can be your calm and candid coach through every step of the process. Pre-Kellogg, I spent six years as a strategic communications consultant at the Brunswick Group in New York, where I supported some of the world's biggest companies and nonprofits as they navigated crises and change. Last summer, I tried something completely different as a Sr. Program Manager Intern at Amazon in Seattle. I don't believe in putting people in a box, but I do believe that some skills - listening, writing, and communicating - will get you far. I studied English at Yale, where I spent a lot of time reading Russian novels, writing for magazines, and entering cooking contests. My first job was a summer internship at my local newspaper in Birmingham, Alabama.
