Master your Elevator Pitch with These 4 Simple Steps

What is an elevator pitch?

Do you have difficulty answering questions like “Tell me about yourself”? Then, you can prepare a short speech for yourself that is intended to give an overview of who you are and what you do. An elevator pitch is helpful in this regard.

An elevator pitch, also known as an elevator speech, is a short, engaging speech that helps in introducing yourself or your business to someone.

As the name suggests, it needs to be short enough to be conveyed during a brief elevator ride.

Remember! Giving a presentation about your life story is NOT what an elevator pitch is about. Instead, it’s a good short chat that piques the listener’s curiosity.

Why are they important?

The elevator pitch is intended to effectively give away a glimpse into your capabilities, professional settings, along with all your strengths. The elevator pitch is a wonderful technique to make a lasting impression in a short amount of time.

Elevator pitches can be used in a variety of ways, including:

• Selling your concepts
• Making connections with coworkers
• Looking for work

Craft your perfect elevator pitch 

The goal of your elevator pitch is to persuade the person who hears it into wanting to meet you again. Here are four stages to creating the ideal elevator pitch.

STEP 1: Begin with an introduction

Consider one line that best represents you. Some examples are as follows:

1. My name is Perrie, and I make people dance by playing my music.

2. Hello, my name is Jack, and I work with children to help them discover the world of books.

Start your pitch with a memorable line that best describes you.

We recommend that you keep your introduction to a minimum. Keep your details to a bare minimum unless you are asked.

TIP: Don’t include information that is no longer valid. Let’s say you graduated five years ago and have some work experience; instead of mentioning your institution and major, we’d like you to include your professional experience.

“I have found that an effective pitch is nine things: concise, clear, compelling, credible, conceptual, concrete, consistent, customized, and conversational” – Cris O Leary (Author of Elevator Pitch Essentials)

STEP 2: Identify the problem

Know your company and the individual with whom you’re speaking. What is the relatable point? Is the listener in need of a solution? Identify the issue and bring it up. “There are no restaurants here that provide good Italian food,” for example.

We would like you to mention one topic that the listener would be interested in buying or investing in, regardless of how many problems you or your company tackles.

STEP 3: Offer a solution

Now that the listener has agreed to the problem, you may move on to the next step. You now can state the answer that you offer. It should be defined in a couple of lines at the most.

It makes the pitch not just a one-way pitch but more like a conversation.

STEP 4: ASK!

Unless you state it clearly, nobody will ever comprehend what you want from them. You don’t want your listener to have to guess what you’re asking for. We know it sounds terrifying, but pose the question to the listener so that they can figure out how they can assist you. Ask for an internship if you want to be one! If you’re unsure what to ask for and simply want to meet them for a second time, you can hand them your business card.

PRO TIP: What you say is important, but so is how you say it. Maintain a confident stance, maintain eye contact, use your hands when necessary, and be polite.

Things to keep in mind when writing your elevator pitch

1. Be concise; after all, it’s called an elevator pitch for a reason.
2. Your pitch must be both persuasive and valuable.
3. Address common issues, particularly those that the listener can relate with and for which a solution is required.
4. You may add one or two KPIs related to your business to establish credibility.
5. Remove any words that appear to be ambiguous. Allow your family members to hear your pitch, and keep any lines that they like.
6. Too much rambling about yourself can be unattractive. Your speech needs to be very specific.
7. NO jargon! Don’t use too many fancy and technical terms.
8. Don’t come across as desperate or unsure. Instead, spend time writing a pitch using the steps outlined above. Allow your creativity to wander freely. 

Have you created your elevator pitch? We would love to hear it. Comment your pitch below!

Pirbhat Haddad

Staff Writer: Pirbhat is a digital content creator and a writer. She began her small venture at the age of 16. Although she had to quit it, she ended up learning a lot about the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Her educational background in Business administration has provided her with an adequate amount of knowledge on a vast variety of subjects. She now likes to talk about developing productive habits, succeeding with people by studying people skills as well as applying marketing strategies.