At its best, an elevator pitch is a pithy, memorable answer to the dreaded, “Tell me about yourself.” At its worst, it’s cheesy, jargon-filled nonsense. (e.g., I’m not a writer. I’m a “word crafter on a mission to eradicate sentence-ending prepositions from the planet.”)
“Elevator speeches are infamous for sounding overly contrived and using buzzwords. People usually come up with them by writing down different variations, but when it’s time to say it out loud, they chicken out and usually mumble something generic because they can’t say it with a straight face,” says branding expert Nela Dunato, author of The Human-Centered Brand: The Practical Guide to Being Yourself in Business.
Still, when you’re on a job interview or trying to make the most of a chance meeting with a great contact, a good line or two can open the conversation and help people see why it’s a good idea to know more about what you do. Here’s how to create a memorable elevator pitch that doesn’t sound cheesy.
LOOK FOR THEIR UNIVERSAL TRUTH
When you’re first meeting someone, they don’t want to be “speechified,” says business coach Chris Westfall, author of The New Elevator Pitch: The Definitive Guide to Persuasive Communication in the Digital Age. “This idea that there’s some memorized speech where the ninth word is, ‘Abracadabra,’ and because that’s a magic word, it creates magic results,” he says. “That’s not how it works.”
Instead, look for the “universal truth” that relates to what you do and matters to your target. Universal truths are high concepts with which virtually everyone agrees. For example, people want a sense of safety in the workplace. They want freedom from risk, or to keep as much of the money they earn as possible. When you find the universal truth that connects you to your target, you’ll usually find the persuasive message you want to relay, he says.
The high concept is followed by something unexpected, he says. For example, instead of saying, “Hi, I’m a CPA. My name is Allen Smith and I help clients with their taxes,” try “You know how everybody is interested in maximizing the amount of money that they keep when it comes time to talk to Uncle Sam in April? That’s what I help my clients do. My name’s Peter Smith, I’m an accountant.”
STRIKE THE RIGHT TONE
Whether you’re pitching a recruiter, prospect, or other contact, you need to adapt the right tone. “You need to be able to explain your professional summary, your skills, why you are a fit for the role, and why you applied, all in 30 to 45 seconds,” says Jennifer Lasater, vice president of career services at Purdue University Global, a public online university focused on working adult students headquartered in Chicago. Keep the personal details to a minimum. And don’t assume the need has to be a “pain point”—that’s a common misconception, Westfall adds.
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