Trails we travel

As you go about your journey to start, grow and continue your business you will find many roads to success. We all know about networking and the values it can have for us. There are the 60 second infomercial, elevator speech and the seven word intro.

One important factoid to keep in mind though: "It is better to leave a people trail than a paper trail".

What do YOU do that can help ME? (The elevator speech)

A short, snappy answer to the question, “What do you do (that can help me)?” is the universal icebreaker for networking. It’s your most important brief business speech whether you are looking for a job or looking for business.

Common business jargon for this is the “elevator speech” or “elevator pitch” – something short enough to introduce you or your business during a ride on an elevator. A brief version might take only 15 to 30 seconds. A more detailed one might take a minute (or even two) and it might instead better be described as an escalator speech. Your elevator speech should discuss the benefits that you or your product can provide, not just features. The speech should be free of jargon, so lose those TLAs (three letter acronyms).

Where can you find examples of elevator speeches? Craig Harrison presents six brief examples in an article on Elevating Your Consulting Practice with Your Elevator Speech.

Jay Roy displays an excellent longer job search speech in his article on The gift of the Gab: Becoming a Better Networker. Katharine Hansen shows five examples in her article on how The Elevator Speech is the Swiss Army Knife of Job-Search Tools.

Is it easy to write an elevator speech? No, it is both hard and time consuming. After all, it’s almost like writing a radio commercial about yourself or your business. Chris King ends his article on How to Craft an Effective Elevator Speech by giving his own speech as an example.

Terry Dean’s article on how to Create Your Elevator Speech also includes his own speech as an example.

Originally posted on the Joyful Public Speaking blog by Richard Garber, January 27, 2009

The other day my friend Sean Harry was speaking on a favorite topic of mine, Networking 101. As he was wending his way through his topic, which I have heard a few times to say the least, he would strike a note with a hint of passion. My ears would pick up on it and reminded me of techniques I already know.

The point here is we can all learn more from the same material if we either pay attention or be sure we have our "listening" ears on. By the same token you will be more successful in your interviews when you allow your passion to come out.

Remember that you can achieve both these traits, listening and passion, at any Toastmasters meeting.

<h3>Late appointments</h3> Have you ever gone for an appointment and either been stood up or the other party is late?

Hopefully you have brought a magazine, book or paper to read. You can even have your laptop of communicator phone and work. One must always be prepared so we can make the best of out time.

When someone gives you an opportunity for free time might as well take advantage of it.

In my case I wrote this as my appointment didn't get my e-mail about when and where to meet. <!-- spacer for skins that want sidebar and main to be the same height-->