The dynamic elevator speech

"I hate this networking stuff. I'm no good at small talk!" How many times have we heard this? From friends, co-workers, and even fellow attendees at events where people gather to - you guessed it - network! (If you want true irony, check out the folks who use their distaste for small talk as a subject about which to make small talk! Love it!) This is lethal. How you present yourself to a new contact in that vital first 10 seconds is...well...vital. If your so-called elevator speech isn't a good fit, doesn't ring true for you, or if - god forbid! - it bores you, I can tell you that you're losing valuable contacts, which translates into a negative impact on your bottom line.

A little preparation can work wonders in these situations. Most of us know that we should have an "elevator speech"; that is, we know that we should be able to say what we do in 30 to 60 seconds when we meet someone new. Unfortunately, most folks stop there. They may or may not make some effort to actually prepare such a speech before being faced with a networking scenario. If they do prepare, it's with the concept that this is something they'll do once. They memorize their spiel, and off they go.

The result? They, and anyone listening to them, quickly become bored with the same old patter.

Try something new. I like to call it the dynamic elevator speech. Take a few minutes, right now, to think about what really excites YOU about your business. What are your very favorite strong points? What makes you happy and proud when you say it? Pick several. Now, think about having multiple elevator speeches centering around these things. You can select just one or two key points to mention for each "speech." Remember, elevator speeches aren't about detailing your full range of services and/or products; they're about starting a dialogue.

Once you're comfortable with what you have to offer, and you have several options to choose from, you can tailor what you say to where you are, who you're talking to, and your most impressive accomplishments right at that moment. You'll never again get caught groping for an answer when someone says "And what do you do?"