Introduction:

Here is the situation. You are in a Zoom meeting hosted by your organization. The number of attendees is too many to have each attendee take time to introduce themselves and respond to questions. Since one of the goals of the meeting is to have people be able to introduce themselves and give some personal background, the host sends a small number of attendees to breakout rooms where the small groups can talk.

In your virtual room, you listen to each participant in-time give their multi-minute introductions. You begin to daydream about things you need to do later today. You tune back into the meeting to see what you missed. Since there were few to none follow-up questions, you decide you hadn’t missed anything important and listen politely for when it is your time to speak. No promising connections will be made today!

Daydreaming and waiting for your turn to speak during a meeting are common symptoms of poorly presented elevator speeches. The goal of an elevator speech is the first step in building a mutually beneficial relationship. The relationship can be either personal or professional where the relationship helps all parties to find what they are looking for. Unfortunately, many fail at this goal which means bored attendees and a sense of wasted time.

It does not have to be this way. By simply following these five commandments of effective elevator speeches, you will be able to establish the relationships you need to achieve your goals. You will build credibility. You will attract more powerful contacts through referrals. And you will not be boring!

Commandment #1: Elevator speeches shall be the first step in building a relationship.
An elevator speech is only the first step in building a beneficial relationship. Unfortunately, many people believe that an elevator speech is a means of asking strangers for some of their resources without offering anything in return. This is incorrect. Elevator speeches ask for relationships and not stuff.

Commandment #2: Your elevator speech shall be about them and not you.
Since elevator speeches are about relationships and people are human, your elevator speech should contain a value for them. Your elevator speech should list content/benefits of interest to your audience. Again, you should not be asking for anything. Just giving.

Commandment #3: Elevator speeches shall be short.
Take about 30 seconds to one minute to introduce yourself in your elevator speech. The truth is that just after a few seconds, people have decided if you are worth listening to or not. Save you and them the discomfort of having to stand there listening to you drone on long after they have tuned out. Keep your elevator speech short and let them ask questions if they are interested.

Commandment #4: Tell them just enough.
Elevator speeches should initiate engagement between you and your audience. A great way to do this is by supplying just enough interesting content that your audience wants to know more and begins demonstrating their interest by asking follow-up questions. Resumes are not speeches!

Commandment #5: You shall practice your elevator speech regularly.
Elevator speeches should flow with practiced ease. Stumbling over your words can create a credibility problem. If you are not comfortable with your offerings, why should they trust you? Practice your elevator speech until it flows at a conversational speed.

Conclusion:

There is an old saying, “it isn’t who you know; it is who knows you”. Effective elevator speeches are the first step in building those personal and professional relationships with those who can build your credibility, give you access to resources, and open the door to greater opportunities. An elevator speech that follows the above five commandments of effective elevator speeches will make your audience want to know you better rather than daydreaming about what they could have been doing instead.