Mastering Your Greatest Networking Tool: Your Elevator Speech

You're at a networking event, you're focused on meeting people and as you introduce yourself to people you've never met before you realize you only have moments to make a lasting impression. How do you pull it off with ease, grace and a possible future opportunity, by perfecting your speech well in advance of attending networking events.

What exactly is an Elevator Speech? It's your 30 seconds to say who you are, what you do and who you help. It's not 20 minutes of you rambling on about your process, your products and services but your opportunity to introduce yourself, what you do and who you serve.

Now the key to a great one is to make it genuine, succinct and memorable. Often times my clients come to me asking for help with perfecting their Elevator Speech so that they can close more complimentary strategy sessions, get more sales or gain more clients. But your primary goal shouldn't be an on the spot sale it should be to entice those you meet to connect with you for a more in-depth conversation at a later point.

The Breakdown of a Great Elevator Speech

1. Capture Their Attention-When it's your turn to answer the "What do you do?" question, you want to make sure when you explain what you do that it doesn't bore your listener to tears. Choose your words wisely and be creative about your approach.

2. Make It Clear and Simple- Make sure you include who you are, what you do, who you work with and what you do to solve a particular problem.

3. Focus On What People Struggle With-The real secret to a great speech is to identify what you help people overcome or deal with. When you focus on how you support others with the work you do or product you offer, it will help the listener understand if they can benefit from what you do or if they know of someone else that may

4. Practice-It takes practice to come up with a free flowing Elevator Speech. I recommend that you practice it by writing it and reading it aloud. See how it sounds. Does it sound interesting? Boring? Believable? Too salesy? The more you practice it the more comfortable you'll feel when you deliver it.

5. Sell Yourself with Confidence-selling yourself and what you do is about confidence. It's also about knowing your products and services so well that you can easily tell someone how what you do can solve their problem. As you deliver your speech more and more it will start to fall off your tongue but more importantly you want to make sure that you believe what you're saying. Own your speech!

Keep in mind that your Elevator Speech is your first impression. Your objective is to deliver a solid and memorable overview of who you are and what you do. Consider that it's your business card delivered in person. A good speech will make your listener take action by either following up with you or referring someone else to you who may benefit from what you do.

Do you have a solid Elevator Speech? What can you do to twist it around and deliver one that's memorable and elicits action?