Crafting your Elevator Pitch: What do you do?

In its most simple form The Elevator Pitch is your 15-20 seconds response to the question “What do you do?”.

If you were to meet a potentially important contact for the first time in an elevator at a conference and he/she asks you: “What do you do?” you have seconds to make an impressive impact. That is why having a concise and interesting Elevator Pitch in your back pocket is an important tool.

What you say will depend on the situation and should reflect the event you are at but every Elevator Pitch should include the following key points:

1. Your Name
2. Your Business/Company
3. Location/Coverage (if relevant)
4. Personal Specialism / Offering

It most situations less is more and you should be concise and interesting. This is why it helps to prepare and practice your Elevator Pitch. You come across as more professional and confident with a well-prepared pitch.

Finish off your Elevator Pitch with a question to allow a conversation to continue rather than just ending abruptly. The others in the conversation may have already introduced themselves so it is useful to have a couple of handy back-up questions not just simply “What do you do?”