The Benefit Of Refreshing Your Elevator Pitch.
Does your network know what you’ve been up to lately?
Making sure your existing network has an updated elevator pitch on what you can do, can supercharge your career opportunities.
Do you ever forget what you’ve achieved?
If you often forget to inform your network about what you can do, because you’re too busy getting the work done, you’re like so many of our clients.
Yet, having an updated elevator pitch up your sleeve can turbo charge the opportunities made available to you
Why refresh your elevator pitch?
If your network was to recommend you … would they be up to date with what you’d want to be put forward for?
When others know what you’ve been up to lately, they ‘refresh’ how they see you. They’re then equipped with an easy to remember catch phrase to suggest you for opportunities to their network.
It’s those people (the people you don’t know yet), who are asking your network for recommendations.
Do others know what you’re capable of?
If your existing network were to recommend you for [what they currently know about you] …. would that match what you are wanting to do more of in the future?
If not, telling them what you’ve been up to lately is a practical way to fix that. One format you can use is to refresh your elevator pitch.
Does your pitch reflect where you’re currently at or what you want to do more of in future?
If not, it could be a good time to update your pitch.
A refreshed elevator pitch keeps your network up to date on what you can do.
A refreshed pitch is simple, highlighting your most notable achievements and ideas on what you’d like to do more of.
It also means when you need to formalise it, like dress it up in a job application or pitch, you’ve practised it enough times that it’s pretty straightforward and feels like you.
Refresh your elevator pitch.
Open a document or get out a notepad to start this exercise.
If you’d prefer to be guided by video, get access to our short video course, Brand You.
Step 1: One word.
Write down 1-2 words to describe what you currently do.
Examples:
Analyst
Financial Controller
CEO
Don’t need to dress it up or make it sound fancy for now. This is an exercise in keeping it simple to get something written down.
Step 2: One sentence.
Write down, in one sentence, how you’d describe what you do to a curious 12 year old.
People pay attention to things they already know a little bit about. When you simplify what you do to a ‘12 year old level’, it helps more people understand quickly.
If they understand it, they’re more likely to repeat it. People repeat something that’s easy to remember.
Examples:
I help people communicate better with their team.
I link data from databases into medical records.
I help my team sell products to customers.
What does your version of the above look like?
Step 3: Describe your audience.
When you tell people who you help through your work, it becomes more tangible to them.
Documenting every group that benefits from the work you do, directly or indirectly, helps you articulate that.
Examples:
My work helps workplaces, leaders, and employees communicate better.
The work we do helps Australians vote with confidence.
My work helps young people make better decisions about superannuation.
When you think of all the benefactors of your work, what groups come to mind? If your work is designed to help people in the future, what would those groups be?
If the person you’re talking to knows a member of the group you help, immediately, they’ll be likely to pay more attention.
Step 4: Show them how you know what you know.
What helps others trust you know what you’re talking about is showing them ‘how’ you know what you know. Documenting your qualifiers (how you know what you know) gives you tangible case studies you can use to demonstrate your expertise.
Write down everything you have experienced that has led to you having the job you currently do. This might include formal education, lived experience, or an interesting work project.
Such as:
Lived experience.
A formal qualification.
A mentorship or secondment.
Then, put that into 1-2 sentences. Examples:
I ran a construction company for 20 years. That’s why I know how to manage a P&L.
I worked in customer service when I was 15. It formed my view on customer centricity.
I ran a project that taught me how to apply my PRINCE2 certification during change.
Prepare one or two examples like this, and you’ll be ready to talk to anyone.
Pro tip: if you’ve been in your job for a while, reflect on the most interesting project you worked on. Why did it capture your interest? Talk about what you want to do more of, and you’ll get more gigs that excite you.
Step 5: Personality.
Take a minute to describe your ‘work personality’. What are you like to work with? Here are examples from workshops I run teaching people to create their elevator pitch:
I’m introverted. I do my best when I have uninterrupted time.
I’m creative and extroverted. I get lots of energy from being in the office with others.
I’m a sceptic. I love finding errors in work. I’m a good fit in governance roles.
Giving people a heads up on your work personality helps you remember that bringing your authentic self to work is a superpower. Why not remind people of it?
Now you’re going to put this all together into a template.
Take the following sentences and fill in the blanks.
I am a …. [one word]
The types of people I work with are … [the list of people who benefit from your work]
My background is in …[your qualifiers go here]
Interesting experiences I’ve had include … [most memorable work project here]
My approach to work is … [personality]
You now have a base. Then, add these three.
Highlights of my career include …
The favourite part of my job is ….
I’d love to do more of …
Now circle three sentences you like the best. Which sound like you?
When you’ve done your pitch, say it out loud.
Most of the time you’ll be sharing your pitch verbally in meetings, or informally in conversation. That means you need to feel comfortable saying these things without hiding under your desk and cringing.
We trust people who seem comfortable with themselves. Practice saying it out loud until you like your pitch.
As long as it’s truthful and you can recite it, you’re good to go.
Remember: the simpler your pitch the more others can repeat it.
Wouldn’t it be cool if other people were recommending you when you weren’t even in the room? They can only do that if they can remember what you’ve done.
Keeping it simple helps other people remember it.
Bring our elevator pitch workshop to your workplace.
This workshop is delivered as part of our 90 min, half, or full day Communicating with Influence training.
In the workshop, leaders and individual contributors alike are guided through our elevator pitch framework, and create their own pitch.
Communicate with Influence Programme.
Create confident & influential communicators.