The Competition Has an Elevator Speech Do You

The Competition Has an Elevator Speech Do You A WorkSphere survey released in September by Spherion Staffing Services reveals that, for the most part, employees can articulate what they do for a living in 30 seconds or less. Eighty-nine percent of employees feel confident in their ability to give an elevator speech, which suggeststhat a large portion of the workforce is equipped with the right tools to win the next job, promotion, raise, or company award.Hiring managers have long lauded the elevator speech as the ticket to career advancement. Given that the majority of workers are able to eloquently describe their jobs in elevator pitches, how do individuals make their speechesstand out from the crowd? And for job seekers who dont have an elevator speech at the ready, what are the right (and most important) things to highlight in the short span of the elevator speech?Titles Are ToughOne stumbling block many people experience while attempting to strea mline their speech is their job title. More than a quarter (27 percent) of employees think that their job title misrepresents their role at work, and 24 percent say job titles impact their job satisfaction.Its important for a title to be reflective of the job the employee is responsible for, says Spherion President Sandy Mazur. When job titles are representative of the role of the titleholder, the employee is more likely to be aware of where they fit in the overall picture of the company and compared to their peers in the industry.Quick Tips for a Better Elevator SpeechCoupled with a well-fitting job title, the following specific techniques canmake one elevator pitch more engaging than the next, according to MazurBegin by leaving your audience wanting more By saying something they dont expect, you will make them want to listen to what you have to say.Dont be formulaic Being unpredictable and exciting can better showcase your personality and increase the likelihood of a future conver sation.Talk with them, not at them In general, people are more open to dialogue than lectures. Even if that means you dont get to every point in your speech, giving the other person room to ask a question or two ultimately makes the exchange more unique and memorable.Read your audience If the person you are talking to isnt into the conversation or seems disinterested, dont force it.Rehearse, but dont sound rehearsed The Spherion survey found that more than a fifth (21 percent) of employees find it challenging to explain what they do for a living. So, its important to know what you want to say and practice saying it, but when its time to deliver your elevator speech, repeating a memorized speech filled with jargon wont stand out.The anatomy of a successful speech abflugs with a clean slate.Because a typical elevator speech is about 30 seconds or less, its important to map out the essential information to describe who you are in the beginning of the process, says Mazur.Start with a bl ank piece of paper and outline everything you would want say if you had an unlimited amount of time. From there, you can start to edit your speech, eliminating any impertinent or unnecessary information until you have a clear, compact, 30-second speech. Remaining positive and excluding boring details provides fertile ground for a successful elevator speech.