Write Your Own Elevator Pitch

Download The Interactive Worksheet Or Read Below.

Write Your Own Elevator Pitch.

Tools: Yourself, a pen and paper Time: 20 minutes

Context: A useful strategy to be more confident when meeting new people is to know what you will say when introducing yourself. In short, this is your personal elevator pitch – your 30-second chance to share who you are and what you do. It can feel awkward trying to sound impressive and important when actually you feel the opposite, so this exercise aims to boost your confidence and help you give a great first impression.
This worksheet will help you to write your own introduction which you can use for networking, both online and offline. Follow the below steps to learn how to introduce yourself as a soft skill and get practising so it flows without you even thinking.

Instructions:

Step #1: Who are you and who do you help?

a) Who are you? Your name and your job title are a good start here.

Example: Hi, I’m X and I am the ‘Job title’ at ‘Company name’

Don’t worry if this isn’t perfect the first time – it’s probably going to be a little long or perhaps you don’t feel it does you justice. At this stage you are stating the facts only.

b) Who do you help? Consider this – it might be your clients, the company you work for, customers or your team.

Example: I help ‘name of people you help’ to achieve ‘Y’. If you work in marketing your answer might be – “I help the company I work for tell our story to attract new customers”.

Answer these two questions starting with writing the very first thing that comes to mind and then revising and refreshing it over a few different iterations. Play around with the wording until it starts to feel right.

Step #2: Share your Why What makes you passionate about what you do and why you do it?

Do you know why you do what you do? If not, that’s OK. Take some time to reflect, question yourself and make some notes. Get curious about what you love about your job, your business, and your clients. When you get to the heart of your passion for your job, write it in one sentence.

A good way to start this thought process is the phrase “I am passionate about [insert job function / industry / audience] because of ‘Y’”. We encourage you to keep this brief – one sentence will do, but you might find it useful to write out a longer version first and then scale it back.

Add this sentence to your answer from Step #1.

Step #3: What makes you unique? Name one thing that makes you different to others who do what you do.

This is a tricky one. If you’re new to networking or struggling to feel confident when introducing yourself, you can certainly build up to including this once you’ve had a few goes. Regardless of whether you’re going to use it straight away, we encourage you to have a go at honestly writing down what you know makes you unique.

It could be your particular insights based on personal or professional experiences, or that you have worked in your industry for a number of years, or perhaps you have pivoted or are in the process of learning a new skill. All of these points, and many more, contribute towards uniqueness so we encourage you to be honest and open.

Add this sentence to your answer from Step #1 & #2.

Step #4: Make the link. How does this connection or new introduction help you / what can you offer them? What is the reason behind this connection?

This sentence will change depending on who you speak to, but there are a couple of common points of connection which you should aim to personalise as much as possible. Some ideas below:

Are you fascinated in their work? Have you read about a new project or campaign you would like to hear more about? Is it about a mutual connection you have? (If so, provide some context). Is it about where they work?

This is where the connection gets personal – it’s the reason the other person should want to accept. Depending on how much time you have to prepare an introduction, you should try to make it as personal as possible.

Add this sentence to your answer from Step #1, #2 & #3.

Pro tip: Look out for any phrases that might be falsely humbling yourself or hiding who you are. Also be aware of any words you are using to pretend to be more than you are, or prove yourself to be who you are.

Keep it short, sweet and simple.

Don’t be scared, be prepared We encourage you to practice this as much as possible. Say it in front of a mirror, record it into your phone and play it back, try it out by saying it to friends, and ask for feedback.

Q. Was it clear? Q. Does it represent you correctly? Q. How long did it take you to do? Q. Did you feel like you wanted to get to know more about me?

Saying this out loud is going to allow you to relax into yourself as you get comfortable with your elevator pitch. Keep practising until you feel confident that you can share it with anyone, anywhere.

The result: A clear, articulate and punchy elevator pitch that allows you to start a new conversation and make more meaningful connections.