You know the phrase “elevator pitch.” It’s what you would say to someone during an elevator ride (30 seconds or less), telling them who you are and what you do (and why they should care).
I am amazed how, when asked “Who are you and what do you do,” many business professionals act as if they didn’t expect the question.
Most elevator pitches are horribly ineffective, usually for one of two reasons:
1. They are mumbled quickly, unintelligibly and are forgettable.
2. They ramble on about every feature and service of one’s business until most of the room tunes out.
During an Intero Advisory presentation on LinkedIn, I learned that video could be embedded in a LinkedIn summary page. A light bulb went off – what a perfect place for an elevator pitch!
I immediately went home and created mine (https://vimeo.com/84433854) and decided to offer Professional Elevator Pitch (PEP) videos as a service to help professionals quickly and effectively tell their story.
Here are the guiding principles:
1. Each pitch must be 30 seconds or less. (Mine is 15 seconds).
2. It has to be spoken by the actual person (not a professional voice-over guy).
3. I use text animation with the fewest number of effects to create a lasting impression. The goal isn’t to win design awards and get a “Wow, how did he do that” response. The goal is to help make the true essence of the message resonate and stick with the viewer long after they’ve seen it.
The best elevator pitch is as consistent as your logo. It tells who you are, what you do and why people should care. And is delivered in a way that, if someone heard it once, they could repeat it to someone else two weeks later.
Everyone who has heard about this service thinks it’s great, but most don’t have a well thought out pitch that is less than 30 seconds. They realize that it takes time, thought and effort to get the best words in the best order. That’s why I decided to partner with Intero Advisory. They do a fantastic job of helping clients craft their story in a meaningful and impactful way.
Here are some tips to help you craft your pitch:
1. Describe who you are, what you do and why someone should care – in one sentence.
2. Choose 3 words from that sentence that have the most impact on your message.
3. Select the one word that is most important to telling your authentic story.
This drill will help you focus on what matters most as you craft your 30 second pitch.
Want to see others? Here are some examples:
Colleen McKenna: https://vimeo.com/90714260
Peter Davis: https://vimeo.com/86463928
Need help crafting your message? Contact the Intero Advisory team.
Already have your pitch and are ready to have your video created? Contact Shaun Callahan at pepvideo@me.com.
Your message matters.
