I’ve written the material, practiced it, adjusted a thirty-second infomercial about myself… and truthfully: I never use my elevator pitch.
In over 25 years of professionally networking, I’ve only tried my elevator pitch once. The awkward reaction I received caused my mouth to stop moving about ten seconds
in, fading away mid-sentence. I spent the rest of the elevator ride looking at my shoes, waiting for the floor to swallow me whole.
Given my profession, it’s hard to admit that every nugget of wisdom thrown out at a captive audience at a job search training session isn’t pure gold.
However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore the information and the approach behind an elevator pitch. Instead of looking at it as your opportunity to land a job offer in a very small space, see an elevator pitch for what it is: a way to craft an introduction that is professional, while also drawing attention to your end goal (a job!).
How to Develop a Powerful Introduction You Can Use Again and Again: A 3 Step Process
Our strategy is simple:
Create your story one part at a time… get comfortable with part one before moving onto parts 2 and 3. This is how you develop a natural, authentic introduction that will work in real life … not just that magical elevator ride!
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