Follow These Tips to Craft a Powerful Elevator Pitch

You’re at a networking event and finally spot the person you’ve been waiting all night to meet. You approach him and use a great conversation starter and get the discussion going. Then he asks, “So, what do you do?”

Or maybe you finally landed that interview for your dream job; it’s going really well, and then the hiring manager goes, “So, tell me about yourself?”

Now what? It’s the perfect opportunity to deliver your elevator pitch. Are you ready?

This is not the time to be at a loss for words! Getting caught like a deer in headlights is not the first impression you want to make when meeting new people. You need the right skills to prepare an elevator pitch so you can speak confidently about yourself, and our NetWorkWise Certification provides the knowledge and tools to help you do this.

When you sign up for our Get NetWorkWise Certified online training course, I take you along a networking journey. You’ll learn to nurture meaningful connections that will aid in your personal and professional success—all as you work toward earning credentials in being recognized as someone who has mastered the art of building social capital. You will gain a deep understanding of relationship-building strategies that you can immediately apply, including techniques behind crafting an effective elevator pitch.

At a loss for words when it comes to your elevator pitch? Here’s a peek inside some tips we cover in the Get NetWorkWise Certified course to help you create a compelling one that makes an impact and best describes who you are. And we’ll start with the basics…

What is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch is a brief summary about you; it’s your self-marketing tool and will act as your personal brand statement. Whether it’s at a job interview or networking event, or maybe you’re presenting new business initiatives or enticing a prospective client, you should be ready with one that will properly convey your message.

It’s a short speech that quickly communicates who you are and the potential value you offer. I recommend keeping your pitch to around 20-30 seconds, which is the average time for an elevator ride (hence the name). The key is to be influential in getting others interested to learn more about you, or your company. As said by best-selling author and entrepreneur Seth Godin: “The purpose of an elevator pitch is to describe a situation or solution so compelling that the person you’re with wants to hear more even after the elevator ride is over.”

How do you craft an elevator pitch?

I advise you to dedicate some time to prepare your own elevator pitch. At first, it may seem an overwhelming task to condense so much information into a short time. But if you go into it with the right mindset and set a goal to get it done, you can create a well-thought-out elevator pitch that is persuasive and compelling.

The first step is to write it down. This will help as you develop and tweak as needed. It’s something you’ll write and rewrite again, I promise you! I revise mine wherever I see fit for the situation.

When putting it together include strong adjectives that best describe who you are and what you bring to the table; using an economy of words is key! It can be challenging to create an impact within this small amount of time, but it can be done. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you’re creating yours:

• Who are you? Introduce and describe yourself / your company
• What do you do? Think of this as your “tag line” and where you convey your skills and value
• Do you have a goal? Talk about what you’re looking to achieve
• What makes you stand out? Include any distinct characteristics or unique benefits you offer

To help you even further we’ve created The Guide to Crafting a Powerful Elevator Pitch. This downloadable tool is provided through the Get NetWorkWise Certified online training course and walks you through each step of developing your own pitch, and then helps you successfully bring it all together. This resource (in addition to many others) is another valuable benefit of earning your certification!

You wrote it, now what?

Your elevator pitch is something you must be comfortable in delivering. My best advice is for you to practice… and practice some more. It should sound enthusiastic, confident, and conversational. I recommend you give your pitch in front of a friend or family member, but make sure they can be objective (and you also must be ready to receive any criticism). Or think about recording yourself so you can hear what you sound like. If you need to make changes, then do it!

As I mentioned, this is just a small peek at how the NetWorkWise Certification empowers you with the skills and knowledge to foster connectivity and increase your social capital. There’s much more to learn about the science and art of networking! And I encourage you to take this journey with me by signing up for our Get NetWorkWise Certified course today.