How to pitch your business in 30 seconds or less.

What is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch is a short, professional introduction about yourself. Elevator pitches are designed to capture a professional’s attention and allow them to understand you and your career aspirations as quickly as possible.

The term elevator pitch came from the creation of a plausible, professional scenario. In this scenario, you are a worker who aspires to work for a certain person or company. If you happen to meet this certain professional who you admire in an elevator, and you only had thirty seconds to introduce yourself and make a lasting impression on this person, then how would you be able to do it? This is where the idea of an ‘elevator pitch’ comes from.

Why is it important?

Elevator pitches are important as they are often used to create the ‘first impression’. When you introduce yourself to another professional, or many professionals at once, it is crucial that you are able to give a good, lasting impression. An elevator pitch helps you create this good, first impression as it is structured to highlight your key skills and desirable, employable attributes.

How do you create one?

An elevator pitch is comprised of four key components:

Name/background

Of course, always start off your introduction by stating who you are. This includes your name, the company you currently work for (or alternatively, the school you are studying at) and your current job/degree.

Elaboration

Elaborate on your current job or degree by stating what exactly you do in your role. For example, you can explain in more detail the key roles of your current job, or you can talk about what your university majors and minors are about. Giving this added context helps your audience understand you and your professional background better.

Aspirations

Few people are happy with a stagnated job, most workers expect some kind of professional growth as they continue to further their careers. This is why it is important for you to also talk about your aspirations. For example, you can explain what you hope to achieve in a three years, or what your main goals are right now. Try to align your aspirations with the current work that the professional who you are talking to has done or is doing. This is so that the worker who you are talking to can see that you are a good fit for them or their company, which therefore makes you more memorable. Also, by talking about your future goals, you can then lead onto the ‘connections’ part of the elevator pitch.

Connections

The most important part of the pitch is to make the connection. Since this pitch is meant to be used to introduce yourself to someone who you want to work for, you need to make sure that you maintain contact with them after the conversation is over, otherwise they may forget about you. Making the connection is very simple, all you have to do is find a way to keep a medium of communication with them. This form of communication can be an add on LinkedIn, or trading phone numbers, emails and business cards.

So there you have it, an elevator pitch that is ready to be used to make a great, lasting impression. Have a go at making one and good luck!