THE DREADED ELEVATOR PITCH

One of the top questions people ask me about networking is: how do I create an elevator pitch that actually works?

The idea of the traditional “elevator pitch” is that it’s a way to memorably introduce yourself to a new person in the time it takes you to ride an elevator.

The problem?

Most networking doesn’t happen in elevators. Rude. But, on top of that, it’s not actually a memorable way of introducing yourself, the style creates no conversation or connection with another person, and it removes most (if not all) authenticity from the message.

Most people agree that the traditional elevator pitch is uninspiring. However, it’s rare that anyone actually offers an alternative. This is frustrating, because when it comes down to it, we all still need a way to introduce ourselves to new people in a memorable way. And, with no new strategies, we fall back on the old way of doing it. We say & hear things like,

“Hi, I’m Joe, I’m an attorney.”

or,

“I’m Hailey, and I am a relationship manager at Principal.”

Boo. Boring.

But, again, in the absence of a new model, most of us just repeat the traditional language, and then consistently feel that our networking efforts are wasted. So, I went in search of a solution, and approached the best source I know on the topic - my good friend, Erik Dominguez.

Erik is a distinguished speaker and communications guru who teaches audiences about confidence, communication, and storytelling. We had a sort of impromptu, but excellent conversation about the art of storytelling in networking, and I want to share that conversation with you! See below for the full interview & some excellent tips on how to use the art of storytelling to improve your networking!