Have you ever struggled to effectively introduce yourself? This feeling becomes more intense when meeting you are someone new that you are sure could be a great connection. You want to give the best possible first impression. To make sure you do so, you should always be practicing your elevator pitch.
What is an Elevator Pitch?
An elevator pitch can quickly be described as the short speech that you give to advance yourself even as you introduce yourself to someone. You don’t want to shake someone’s hand and then fumble awkwardly for something to say. What you want to do is look them in the eye and say something powerful and straight to the point.
When you think about the content of top sales blogs, what do you recall? What ought to come immediately to mind is a quick rundown of the points, delivered in a friendly but engaging manner. This is the exact sort of feel that you should be going for in your own speech.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that your elevator pitch is nothing more than a PowerPoint spiel. There needs to be a bit of art to it. You want to come across as fully competent, experienced, qualified, and fun to be around. To do this, you will need to practice your elevator pitch in order to get it fully up to speed.
A Strong Elevator Pitch is a Connection Maker
One of the most important reasons why you need to practice your elevator pitch is to make a strong connection right off the bat. You and the person you want to impress are most likely in a situation where time is of the essence. You need to get to the point right away and you need to make the most of your 30-second spotlight.
This means summoning up all of the relevant points of what you want to say and then distilling them into a quick and handy soundbite. But the trick is to sound as natural as possible while doing so. This is where the element of practice comes into the picture. It’s no good making a speech that, while informative, comes off as robotic.
What’s in the Perfect Elevator Pitch?
At this point, you may be wondering just what the “perfect” elevator pitch may consist of. By our reckoning, it may look something like this:
“I’ve been a computer programmer for 12 years now. I’ve worked on all of the major mainframes at Proctor & Young and then moved on to Apple a couple of years ago. I’ve always enjoyed learning the nuts and bolts but my interest is really in the bigger picture. That’s why I’ve started to become more interested in a management role.”
This is a speech that lays out what your experiences and qualifications are. It then moves on to what your long term goals are. But it isn’t just a robotic recitation of your CV. It’s a personable, friendly speech delivered in a casual manner to someone who can quickly get your point. The more human you are, the more sympathy you gain.
Make Your Pitch as Effective as Possible
Never beat around the bush when it comes to making your pitch. Always be confident. Stand up straight and get straight to the point. Use a clear tone of voice and speak at a volume that can easily be heard. The key is to be confident without being bossy. You want to impress and ingratiate your hearer, not overwhelm them with arrogance.
Always remember to end your speech with a clear encapsulation of what you are looking for. This is the salient point that you want to impress on your listener. You want them to have a clear idea of what your ultimate goal will be.
Practice Will Make Your Elevator Speech Perfect
When it comes to asserting yourself, you want to do it the right way. You want to put yourself forward without seeming pushy. You want to establish an air of competence and authority without coming off as bossy. To reach this goal, you need to brush up on your elevator speech. This is the impression you want to give forth to the world
