Practicing And Perfecting Your "Elevator" Speech

By Francine Fluetsch on July 9, 2016

In today’s world, connections are going to get you far. Whether it is for an internship or a job, you want to be ready and on your A-game when presented with a connection that you can use in your favor.

Just because you know someone who knows someone else that can get you where you want to go, doesn’t mean that you’ll get the job. You have to sell yourself and really put the effort in if you want to get anywhere. A great thing to have on hand for situations like this is a polished elevator speech/pitch.

An elevator speech is your way of selling yourself in a pretty little package that you only get about 30 seconds to deliver. It should communicate who you are, what you will be able to contribute to the company that you are pining after, and what you personally are looking for. All this in 30 seconds? It does sound a bit daunting, but the more you practice and polish, the more fluid and natural it will come out in the time allotted.

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You might not think you need this, think that you know enough to do this freehand if you happen to see someone important, but when the pressure is on, our nerves can make us forget everything, even our names, so it will be beneficial to take some time and craft your very own elevator speech.

This is your brand, your commercial of sorts, the way in which you are going to sell yourself to the world — and here’s how to do it.

Make it memorable.

You have 30 seconds to shine, so make them count! You don’t want to deliver your speech and then have the person be wondering “so?” or just forget about you completely in a matter of minutes. They are probably getting tons of speeches thrown their way, so you want to make sure that out of all of them, they remember yours and they want to pursue the idea of you working/interning for them.

You can also use a hook as a way to make them remember your speech. You want to remain professional with this of course, but if you can use something to spark their attention and show your passion for the job at hand, it would be very beneficial to throw it in there.

Make it sound natural.

While most professionals know that you’ve probably crafted your elevator speech beforehand, you don’t want it to sound like you have; meaning, you want to come off as effortless and poised, rather than nervous and robotic. The way to make it sound natural is to get a lot of practice in. You don’t need to deliver it word for word every time; as long as you remember the gist of it and have some practice under your belt, you’ll do great!

The best way to conquer the nerves is to practice in front of your friends or family members. They will be able to give you constructive feedback, and you will be able to read their facials to see if your speech is intriguing, or if it is making their eyes glaze over.

Your parents and friends have probably had experience delivering similar speeches to land a job or two as well, so they might even be able to give you pointers on how to approach certain individuals and if your speech will make the cut or not.

Show your passion.

If you are just rushing through your speech, you aren’t going to sell it to anyone. You want to really be passionate about what you are saying, take your time, and make sure each word hits. If you are smiling, confident, and letting your passion shine through your words, you are going to draw your listener in, and will help yourself have a better chance at getting in with the company. Practicing in the mirror and watching your facials and how you deliver will help you tweak your body language and facials to look open, warm, and enthusiastic about the topic at hand: your skills!

Don’t leave your speech hanging.

Let’s say you kill your speech; they now know who you are and what you can do, but you just leave it at that. This might be where an awkward silence sets in and they excuse themselves to go and speak with someone else. You want to make sure you end your elevator speech with some sort of request, either for a business card or an interview appointment. This will show that you are proactive and that you aren’t just talking the talk, you actually mean business and want to further the process.

These are just a few things that you can do to get started on crafting your elevator speech. Remember that this is a process and you should be constantly changing it as you use it on people and as you gain more experience. Good luck out there!

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