Perfecting the Elevator Speech – Part 2

In Perfecting the Elevator Speech – Part 1 I wrote about why it is important to perfect your elevator speech.

Time, attention spans and memory all play a part in why an elevator speech needs to be short, simple, indisputable and memorable.

But how does one get “down to it” and actually write an elevator speech?

Here are some tips…

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Stream of consciousness writing. Block out some time, turn off the phone and eliminate as many distractions as possible. Tell your inner critic to take a hike and just write about your business. Write about anything and everything that comes to mind. Write and write until you can’t write any more and then walk away from it. Go take a walk, play with the kids or create something. Let your writing sit for a day or two while your subconscious works over what you’ve written.

Top Ten. Now that you brain has had some time to work – on a piece of paper, numbered 1-10 write down the ten most important things you want people to know about your business. What, exactly, do you do and what are your goals? Who does your company serve and why? Focus on the most interesting, memorable and important facts, the ones that will make you stand out from everyone else.

Narrow it down. Now, pull out 5 index cards and write these questions on the top of them; Who am I, What do I do, Why do I do it, How do I do it, and For whom do I do it. Take the sentences from your Top Ten list and place them on the card they best fit. Example: What do I do? I create home decor items that are high quality, American made and on trend.  At the end of this exercise you should have 1 or 2 compelling sentences on each card.

Putting it all in order. Now that you have some of the basic elements of your speech on the cards, put them in a logical order. Put your most important information at the beginning of the speech just in case you should get interrupted. At least that way the listener may be intrigued enough to follow up with you later. Even if they didn’t get to hear your whole speech.

Add a Hook. The hook goes at the beginning of your speech and gets your listeners attention. Beginning with phrases such as, Have you ever wished, What if, and Imagine this, are good ways to start a hook. You can also start by sharing an interesting fact or statistic that applies to your business. The object of the hook is to get attention and have the listener want to learn more.

Practice, practice, practice. Give your speech to an objective observer and ask for CONSTRUCTIVE feedback, record your speech and listen to it yourself, try actually riding in an elevator alone and saying your speech out loud. Make sure that your speech is friendly, to the point, that you aren’t talking too fast, and that you are sending the message you want to send.

Be prepared. Be prepared to get interrupted, be prepared to answer follow up questions, and be prepared for the next step. Not only do you need to have your elevator speech honed and perfected but you should also know what you want to gain from giving it. Are you ready for the next step? Whether it’s writing the book, developing the product or getting the wholesale account, be prepared (at least for the very next baby step) for when the listener says, “I’m in!”

Have you ever been in an elevator and heard someone give their speech to someone else? How did you feel about it?  Did you walk away with more information that you could use?

By: Vicki O’Dell , The Creative Goddess