Elevator Presentation

Wondering how some people can be so busy! C’mon, how can you share your enthusiastic ,near-perfect solution, going down or up an elevator? You have spent hours if not days, preparing a great PowerPoint or maybe a whiteboard sketching  and then on the D-day, at the appointed time – You are asked to give a presentation. No, not in the conference room, but in a closed, moving elevator. Please…help!

Though I have heard of this so-called elevator speech, I was not really serious about it – until a week back. I went to see this new client with a host of stuff to show, demonstrate and present. Sitting at the 11 floor, I suddenly found a man rushing with two others towards me. Assuming he must be the client, I stood up and made my best hi. Well, he was indeed the client – but he had to go someplace urgently and as I began to say something about changes and adjustments (Me and my big mouth), he suggested that I share this presentation as we go-down the elevator.

What? My tools, my precious visual sketching that I wanted to impress him with – Well…we got on and came down (This was one ride – I wanted the elevator to go down real slow ). I could hardly say anything cohesive…and back at my desk, as I sat with my head pillowed in my hands – I decided to google – and I arrived at this fascinating site:
HBS Career Pitch

Then I began to create my own elevator speech and now I am almost ready to be caught unawares! The ‘real’ ready is when I have to actually do it!

This is not just for the elevator speech, but when you have to do a quick introduction…Prepare this and I am sure, it will help you tremendously in your regular introductions too.

Remember: Keep it simple and interesting but before that – get to know atleast a little bit about the person you are talking to. It helps to customize your elevator speech at the spot – because it then adds tremedous value to the listener.