D(esign) Playbook - People
Recruiting - Elevator Pitch
Personal Statement: Things that you aren’t easily comfortable with or that you don’t naturally tend to can be honed to a highly effective form. Direct, clear, and compelling communication will serve you well if a variety of scenarios. Starting with developing an effective and impactful elevator pitch regarding yourself is a great place to start.
Keys to Elevator Pitch:
Daisy Wademan Dowling, founder CEO and editor-in-chief of Workparent, suggests the following keys to nailing that sub 30 second interaction to tell your story.
Focus on your positive impact - There is an example from a previously aired 60 Minutes segment set at a white-collar job fair. One of the interviewees, a laid-off Wall Street secretary, looks straight into the camera and says, with total conviction, “I can make any boss shine.” What an impactful, succinct statement. Who doesn't want to shine? Describing the impact you've had, and can continue to have, is much more compelling than talking about your number of years of experience. To make a compelling, one-sentence encapsulation of who you truly are and what you can offer, the following three characteristics are suggested: i.) It needs to be utterly genuine. ii.) The statement should focus on things that most managers and leaders find difficult or otherwise grapple with. iii.) The statement should paint a rosy picture of the future for the hiring manager, for the corporation, or for both.
Focus on “I,” not “we” - In several settings it is optimal to emphasize “we”, however elevator pitches are all about “I.” Becoming comfortable with focusing your message on your individual contributions will help make your pitch more direct and effective. This can be accomplished in a delicate manner that emphasizes and promotes others as well, but don’t confuse the message or under-represent your value.
Plan the energy of your pitch - Dowling suggests “Whether out of nervousness or a desire to cram a lot of information into a pitch, people giving elevator speeches tend to talk at breakneck pace—which is extremely off-putting to potential employers. Speak at a pace that shows you're calm and confident. You want the listener to think of you as thoughtful and deliberate—not as some manic babbler.” I absolutely that many speakers don’t take advantage of silence and intentional pace for impact in verbal communication. But in a general sense, thoughtfully planning the energy of your pitch is key.
Practice, practice, practice - Repetition is the key to engraining performance, and people should feel comfortable with recitation to mature their ability to deliver their pitch. Imagine someone walked up to you and offered to $10,000 if you are able to recall and recite a new cell phone number they are about to speak aloud and after waiting a 5 minute window. You’d very likely perform echoic memory recitation, aka repeating the number over and over to ensure you can correctly recall and recite the the number. Treat your pitch the same way. Downling says, “know it, get comfortable with it, be able to tilt it effectively for a different audience. Consider your body language when practicing: How will you give the speech differently sitting down versus walking down a hall? How will it be different over the phone and in person?”
Citations/Learn More:
Harvard Business Review, and Review. HBR Guide to Getting a Job. Reed Business Education, 2010.
*Last updated 4/25/2020, please note this is for the purpose of allowing me to document and evolve my thoughts, experiences, and approach. I’d very much appreciate the opportunity to learn from you sharing yours. Reach out to me at jaydubois@gmail.com or @jaydubois