Elevator Speeches are becoming an important item in the toolkit of most people. It doesn’t matter if you are a job seeker, business person or gainfully employed professional, you need a powerful Elevator Speech (ES) to extend and support your personal brand. What you say and how you say it are equal parts to delivering an ES that will either cause people to take notice of you or go to sleep.
Here are ten tips for ensuring that you have an ES that packs a punch:
1. You have to “get” what is unique about you. If you do nothing else, spend time truly getting what differentiates you, what causes you to stand out. This is what you want in your Elevator Speech.
2. It has to roll off your tongue. You need to write it down and practice it so it becomes second nature to you. This will support a confident appearance when you say it.
3. One sentence is usually enough. Think short and sweet. Powerful is not lengthy or full of too many words. When you force yourself into one sentence, it causes you to think about each word more carefully so that each one tends to convey more.
4. Your second word should be a verb. What do you do? For others? This also forces you into thinking about your results and accomplishments. Get a list of powerful verbs, look them up.
5. You have to believe it. If you develop an ES that embarrasses you or causes you to cringe, you either need to beef up your confidence or change what you’re saying about yourself.
6. Give it attitude. If your ES doesn’t have energy or enthusiasm, then expect it to be received the same way. We like people with confidence and a bit of attitude about their abilities. You’re not bragging, but proud.
7. Smile. It’s hard not to love people who smile. It communicates warmth and confidence. You come across as engaging and someone people would like to know more about.
8. Shut up. Once you’ve delivered your ES, stop yourself from saying anything else. I know this is a tough one, but people often blather on, which deflates the impact of your ES. When you stop talking, it will also prompt the person you are introducing yourself to to ask about you or introduce themselves. Both results are great.
9. Leave them wanting more. A great test of a powerful ES is if they ask you about what you’ve just said. Go have fun with this. Next time you attend a professional meeting, say your ES, shut up and see what happens.
10. Have a few ES’s in your toolkit. ES’s are not one size fits all. You will discover that your audience will be a determining factor in what specific message you want to convey. Once you have your primary ES, think through the various groups of people you are likely to use it with. This will help you decide what needs to get tweaked to make it just right for that group of people.
Your Elevator Speech is among the first things you do that will form an impression with others. You want it to be just like you – professional and well delivered.
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