Report: Workshop #02: Elevator Pitching
Eddy Helm is an Account Director at Running With Scissors, and one of yMedia’s directors. Last Wednesday the 12th of May she presented our second workshop, on Elevator pitching:
What is an Elevator Pitch?
A concise, carefully planned, and well-practiced description about your organisation that your mother should be able to understand, in the time it would take to ride up an elevator.
In a networking situation, you have a short amount of time to communicate who you are, what you are doing, and how the person you are speaking with can be involved. By being concise but still easy to understand, your points are more likely to be heard and absorbed.
Why do I need an Elevator Pitch?
It’s easy to miss something you’re not looking for.
It’s not enough to be communicating a message - you must communicate the right message, and make the most of every connection you make.
Take the example of Chinese Whispers. In this workshop, attendees were asked to stand in a circle and engage in a game of Chinese Whispers. The message was:
You are surrounded by extraordinary people, capable of creating a better future for New Zealand and quite possibly the world.
After being whispered in the ears and passed on by the whole group, the message was returned as:
Something something something uh something
This example highlights how important it is to deliver your message as clearly as you can, so that it’s easy for others to pass on.
Take some tricks from media training.
Don’t prepare a script. Work on potential Q&A’s - and cover all bases.
- Who?
Your organisation and the people that you support - What?
What your organisation does — the basics - Why?
What’s the reason for your organisations’ existence? Are there any facts that you can use to illustrate ‘why’ you exist. - Where & When?
If it’s relevant, where and when does your organisation do what it does. - How?
If you’ve hooked in a captive audience; Now’s the time to let them know ‘how’ you can help them, or even how they can help you
Know your Audience
Think about it - how do you speak to a child?
Now, how would you speak to your boss?
You communicate with different people in different ways in order to portray your message most effectively. It’s no different with your elevator pitch -
- Understand who you are talking to
- Tailor your massage to suit them - make sure what you are telling them is relevant
The Importance of Good Body Language
(Warning - this clip contains some nudity)
So, make sure you:
- Are comfortable, because this will help your audience to be comfortable
- Don’t stand too close to the person you’re speaking to - but not too far away either
- Don’t fold your arms - you’re creating a barrier between you
- Make eye contact with the other person, show them that you are engaged and interested in the conversation and they are more likely to participate. But don’t stare them down - intimidating them isn’t going to help!
- Deliver your message with confidence!
