“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” Albert Einstein
First, an elevator pitch is a slang term used to describe a brief speech that outlines an idea for a product, service or project. The name comes from the notion that the speech should be delivered in the short time period of an elevator ride, usually 20-60 seconds.
Your elevator pitch is a way to share your expertise and credentials quickly and effectively with people who don't know you.
About your elevator speech:
- Your elevator speech should be brief – restrict it to 20-60 seconds
- Your elevator speech needs to be persuasive
- Your elevator speech should share your skills, it should explain who you are and what qualifications and skills you have
- Your elevator speech should mention your goals
- Your elevator speech should be specific to who you are speaking to
1) Preparing and writing your elevator pitch
So, to write the perfect elevator speech you have to make a very concise presentation of an idea covering all of its critical aspects and delivered within a few seconds.
The person listening to you has to understand who you are, what you do, what your specialism, product or service is and your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) in the approximate duration of an elevator ride.
2) Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
Your USP is a factor that differentiates you from your competitors, such as the lowest cost, the highest quality or the first-ever product of its kind.
The pitch needs to be founded on your key strengths and clearly articulate a specific benefit like one that other competitors don't offer and makes you stand out.
So, create a strong USP and use it as a starting point to plan and write your elevator pitch.
“Stories connect us at a human level that factual statements and logical arguments can't possibly match.” ― Steve Woodruff, Clarity Wins: Get Heard. Get Referred.
3) Tips for planning your elevator speech
- Thinks about the activities you have already completed, such as the SWOT analysis, your team role(s) preference and your values.
- Establish an objective for what change you are aiming for in your career and who your ideal client is. What is your targeting point?
- Determine your USP. What sets you apart from every other business?
- Plan what you want to say.
- Make it attractive and enthusiastic.
- Remember this will take time and you will go through several revisions before settling on your final version. Do not hesitate to draft, redraft and edit.
- Rehearsing until it doesn’t sound rehearsed.
When you have a draft you are happy with, review it using these questions:
- Does it make you memorable?
- Are you acting spontaneously?
- Is it under 60 seconds?
- Have you removed argot that could lose your audience?
- Could it be considered too ‘sales-y’?
And most importantly, PRACTICE PRACTICE and PRACTICE! It is so important to practice you elevator speech and rehearse your delivery. Only practice makes perfect.
We hope you enjoyed and learned from this article! If you would like more advices and tips, join us for one of our workshops or book a one to one session.
Now time to take action....
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