Recently, I was an honoree at the NAWBO “Good to Great Roundtable” luncheon. (www.nawbocolumbusohio.com) Other honorees from our community included The Women’s Book’s own TaKeysha Sheppard Cheney, Meredith Liepelt of Rich Life Marketing, Nicole Dunn of The Women’s Fund, and Nicci Debro of the Nicci Debro spa, among many. It was a blast! I got to interact with women who wanted to discuss Communication (notice the capital C) who were also business owners and managers. We had such a lively conversation, the event moderator, Renee Tyack dubbed us “The Rowdy Table.”
These women had specific questions on their minds, all related to Communication and success as a female executive or business owner. The first question? “I know I need an elevator pitch, but I hate them! They always seem phoney or promise too much. I’ve never liked any of the scripted ones I’ve made. But I still need one!”
I loved grappling with her concern because the Elevator Pitch is one of our exercises at ImprovEdge, and is also featured in the Yes! Deck. www.ImprovEdge.com/yesdeck. An elevator pitch is an introduction that lets people know who you are, what you do, and why they should care in the same time it would take to ride the elevator a few stories up. Most pitches are scripted and specific, and that works for some people. Guess what! Elevator pitches can also change from day to day, be very down-to-earth, and use common language.
My elevator pitch is pretty consistent – I’m lucky to have improvisation in my business. It’s an immediate hook! “I’m Karen Hough with ImprovEdge. We create learning experiences, consulting and training using improvisation to teach business skills.”
But yours can change from day to day. “I’m Susan Superwoman, and my company, Grill Master, makes you the King of Barbeque!” or “I’m Susan, and I work for Grill Master. I just got promoted and I’m so excited!” or “I’m Susan Superwoman, and Grill Master was a perfect fit for me – I got a job and finally learned how to throw a perfect backyard party!”
This roundtable participant left energized. She also promised to introduce herself to me, using her elevator pitch, at the next event we’ll both be attending – Women at the Table at the YWCA. http://www.weldoh.org/
The key is to HAVE an elevator pitch. No matter what, you must be able to represent yourself and your company smoothly, clearly and in about 30 seconds. Practice different pitches – always on your feet and out loud. Then when the opportunity arises, you’ll be ready and relaxed. Karen
January 19, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I am thrilled to hear that you all enjoyed Karen over lunch. Her talent and ability to engage and inspire is felt immediately. And yes.. she’s right… an elevator pitch is critical but with authenticity.
Thank you, Karen for the reminder of affirming the elevator pitch as well as perhaps refreshing it every so often.
January 18, 2010 at 5:08 pm
I was actually at Karen’s table (part of the rowdy crew). What I loved about the way Karen shared with us is, even though she was our “table leader”, she really made the focus about us and not her. It made for a very effective roundtable. Lesson learned: remember to ASK questions instead of telling. Nice job, Karen!
January 12, 2010 at 2:50 am
Wasn’t that a really fun day at NAWBO! I love your review of your table. Sounds like really great topic and discussion. And I may change my name to Susan Superwoman.
Our table was about strenth in values and we had some interesting conversation about how to bring our personal values into our business. Alas, we weren’t “rowdy” like your table, but we had some good conversation. Thanks for this great overview and reminders about our elevator speeches.