In recognition of National Talk in an Elevator Day tomorrow, we’re discussing what makes a strong elevator pitch. It’s called the ‘elevator pitch’ because you should be able to finish your pitch in the span of a typical elevator ride. While most people stand in silence or browse on their phone, these are occasional opportunities to make an introduction and connection with someone new in an elevator ride – however, you’ll often deliver your pitch at a networking event, job fair, interview, or on your LinkedIn profile.
Make it short. Limit your elevator pitch to approximately 30 seconds or 75 words.
Deliver a brief summary of your background, experience, and goals.
Try the simple formula of: who you are, what you do, how and why you do these things, and what you’d like to become. A strong pitch demonstrates value through performing skills to deliver results. Like a resume, mention a time your performance exceeded expectations, perhaps with a metric or milestone. You can try writing a list of what you’d like to include, ranking these elements, and then eliminating the lowest-ranked things on that list. Keep yours flexible by tailoring your pitch to different audiences.
Practice! If you’re not confident, keep practicing. A strong pitch delivered without confidence is a weak one – but don’t rehearse too much because it’ll sound robotic and unnatural. Your pitch needs authenticity, personality, and memorability. If the situation feels appropriate, exchange business cards or ask to add your audience member on LinkedIn.
You’ve just made an introduction and connection!