Innovative Presentations For Dummies

Chapter 22

Condensing Your Pitch: The Elevator-Ride Approach

In This Chapter

Talking about what you do

Crafting your elevator pitch

Editing your pitch

Adding custom details

One of the questions you’ll be asked most often in your lifetime is “What do you do?” You hear it when you meet someone new at a party, when you run into an old classmate in the airport, even when you see a long-lost cousin at a family reunion — and these are just informal situations. At organized networking events, tradeshows, benefits, and job fairs, it’s one of the first questions you hear.

Do you stumble and mumble a response out of the side of your mouth along the lines of “I’m a, um, manager for a, er, plumbing supplies company.” Or do you smile and respond, “I help forgetful people keep their floors and ceilings dry — my company designs and sells overflow valves so if you leave the faucet open when the phone rings, the kitchen doesn’t flood. Has that ever happened to you?”

Although only one to two minutes long, this type of introduction, or elevator pitch as it’s called, should compel your listener to ...