The Elevator Speech is a short communication moment that can be designed to deliver a key message to someone who wants to know more about your work. Whether you are introducing yourself or selling an idea, be prepared with your Elevator Speech.
In our free course on the importance of developing an elevator speech, learn how to develop your own, personalized version and put it to practical use – in just 6 minutes.
Keep reading to see how Fidel Kandell put this into practice by leveraging his office building’s elevators!
Are You Prepared to Give Your Elevator Speech?
When I was a Project Manager for a large international company, we would rotate 5 or 6 Interns each school semester. I noticed a general lack of practical experience when it came to their communication skills, including the Elevator Speech. The Elevator Speech is a very brief introduction of who you are and what you are working on, and it’s most useful when you are making a connection with someone in your organization or group. Knowing how powerful this capability would be to the interns, I took it upon myself to conduct a real hands-on method for these young professionals to sharpen this skill.
First, I assembled two students downstairs in the building’s lobby, along with one of my volunteer colleagues. I purposefully did not give the Interns any prior prep work. I explained the exercise: each student was to give a short summary of what they’re working on. My colleague and I were role-playing the role of the company CEO and President. They had from the time they pressed the elevator button until we arrived on the second-floor offices to tell us who they were and what they’re doing at this site. This would roughly take 30 seconds. As you might imagine, the first round was a bit rough because it was unplanned. There were a lot of “ums” and “ahs” and “I’m working on X or Y” but they ran out of time when the doors opened.
Next, I gave the Interns 15 minutes to write down 4 or 5 short sentences that included 1) an introduction, 2) an opening sentence that would arouse interest, 3) a sentence or two that told a story for one specific topic, and 4) closed with an opportunity for the listener to ask follow-up questions because they want to learn more.
We prepared again by returning to the lobby. Naturally, their speeches improved, but in most cases were still too vague or not memorable enough. Over the next hour, I worked with each student to find something engaging and memorable from their assignments. By the third practice round, their elevator speeches were tight and right.
In today’s world, leveraging your office building elevator may not be feasible if you’re working from home. But the equivalent scenario could be played out when you and the VP happen to be waiting for a virtual team meeting to begin. You can be prepared to give your elevator speech.
Afterwards, I asked the students to hold on to their final speech version and to practice it at home in front of the mirror in case an opportunity would come to put into the real-world use. Because… you never know who will be riding along.
Fidel
