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Quick & Silly

🛒 Sell the Unsellable

Turn an awful product into something people suddenly feel they need.

What you need

A list of bad products: broken pencil, empty box, squeaky chair, single glove, rock.

How to play
  1. Choose an unattractive or useless object.
  2. Give it a fancy product name.
  3. Invent three benefits.
  4. Finish with a dramatic sales line.
See one in action
Product: a broken umbrella.

“Introducing the AirFlow Umbrella. Traditional umbrellas trap heat and block your view. AirFlow’s strategically missing fabric improves ventilation while still giving you the emotional comfort of carrying an umbrella.”

The trick is to take a weakness and reframe it as a benefit.
10 ideas to try

Choose any one of these prompts and use the activity steps above:

  1. Sell a broken umbrella as a “personal rain ventilation system.”
  2. Sell a single sock as a “minimalist foot-warming solution.”
  3. Sell an empty box as “premium storage for people who own nothing.”
  4. Sell a squeaky chair as a “built-in sitting notification device.”
  5. Sell a blunt pencil as a “low-pressure creative writing tool.”
  6. Sell a rock as a “zero-maintenance desktop companion.”
  7. Sell a cracked mug as “a cup with advanced beverage visibility.”
  8. Sell a slow clock as “a mindfulness-based time management device.”
  9. Sell a tiny umbrella as “precision rain protection.”
  10. Sell a notebook with one page left as “the ultimate commitment to concise thinking.”
Make it harder / funnier

Another player adds one terrible product flaw that you must turn into a benefit.

Why it helps

Practices persuasion, reframing, creativity, benefits-based language, and humor.

Ready to use this skill?
Take the activity into a full SpeakCoachLab practice session.
Try it in Public Speaking →