We’ve all been to the event where the participants have the chance to give their elevator speech to the rest of the group. You stand up and recite your lines and more than half of the group invariably runs over the 30-second limit. What’s a good way to teach yourself to be brief, to the point and within time?
How about using Twitter as a model for that speech?
I know this concept has been around a while, but it wasn’t until my good friend and IABC colleague, Scott Cytron, brought it up on the way to a networking event last week that I really thought about it. Scott uses the exercise of writing a Twitter pitch as some have called it, to warm up webinar audiences. Here’s what this exercise can make you do when it comes to crafting your elevator speech:
- Focus.
- Get to the point.
- Keep you within time.
- Force you to rehearse.
- Revise and refine.
- Realize this is a conversation starter.
By focusing on what it is you really do or who you are you gain clarity to your message.
The short format forces you to get to the point (wouldn’t that be nice guidance for that rambling guy at the Chamber networking event?).
I’d give anything to constrain people to a time limit.
Rehearsal gives the speech the polish and attention it needs. And the act of rehearsing and revising cause you to really refine the message–and create variations based upon audience.
But most importantly, this is a conversation starter. Every relationship starts somewhere and you can’t possibly put everything about yourself or your business in 140 characters. But, as my friend and social media expert, Ben Smithee, told me years ago: this is about getting to know people so you can have a positive interaction.
Also remember the basics of a good elevator speech. As my colleague, Chris Westfall, the elevator speech champion, will tell you, it is the beginning of a persuasive conversation. It must be crafted carefully.
Don’t get caught up in the tool, understand where it is taking you and what it is intended to do. Use this exercise to fine tune what you already do well and use it to become a better communicator and networker.
Relentless
