Can you impress someone within 30 seconds?

You sure are wondering if it is even possible, let alone make it happen within 30 seconds. We have a genie that can do that for you.

Say hello to the elevator pitch.

An elevator pitch is a brief introductory speech that you give to spellbound listeners.

According to statistics, 80% of people believe that a career can be grown through professional networking. An elevator pitch can help to broaden your networking as you will be able to connect with professionals when you introduce yourself.

To make an everlasting impact from an elevator pitch, let us first look at the most frequently asked questions related to the elevator pitch.

• What is an elevator pitch
• Why is an elevator pitch important
• When to use elevator pitch
• Elevator pitch examples
• Elevator pitch examples for students
• Elevator pitch examples for business
• Mistakes to avoid in an elevator pitch

What Is an Elevator Pitch?

An elevator pitch, also known as an elevator speech, is a brief but persuasive speech you give to introduce yourself, your company, or your product. The elevator pitch must be such that it ignites the spark to know more about you in the minds of the listener.

Wondering why an introductory speech is called an elevator pitch?

A business professional is a busy person and you cannot expect them to sit with you for an hour listening to who you are, what you do, or what your product or service is. Therefore, all you have is 30 seconds to earn their interest.

Imagine an elevator ride. How much does an elevator take to go up and down the building?
Approximately 30-60 seconds. That’s the time you too have with the business person and hence, the speech is called an elevator pitch.

Why is An Elevator Pitch Important?

An elevator pitch is significant for anyone who is job hunting or wants to expand their business. You never know when you get the opportunity to interact with a person who can be of great help in networking. Keeping a good elevator pitch ready can help you seize the opportunity.

A unique elevator pitch will demonstrate your key skills and strengths by suggesting that you are a person with a lot of potential. It can help you answer the most common “tell me about yourself” or “what do you do” questions.

When to Use an Elevator Pitch?

An elevator pitch can be used for a multitude of reasons. From expecting a job to expanding a business, this 30-second speech can do wonders for your career. Let us look at the situations where it can be used.

At a Career Fair

A career fair has lots of professionals who can assist you in landing your dream job or push you forward in the right direction. Thus, keeping an engaging introduction can quickly help to create a first good impression.

For a Job Interview

Professional growth is determined by the job you do and how much satisfaction you are driving out of it. An elevator pitch can answer the “tell me about yourself” question. Remember to follow the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) formula and compel the person to listen to you.

To Build Your Network

It might happen that you are looking to connect with potential clients or professionals who can refer you to a better job opportunity. In such cases, having a strong network can be helpful and an elevator pitch can be the beginning of a story that you might be thankful for forever.

To Create a Captivating Online Presence

A written version of the elevator pitch can help recruiters reach out to you. If your goals and skills match theirs, you are sure to receive a message from them.

Elevator Pitch Examples

Although there is a time constraint while delivering an elevator pitch, this does not mean you will deliver a 5-minute essay in 30 seconds by speaking at lightning speed.

Here’s how to write an elevator pitch without sounding like Howard D. Doyle from Intolerable Cruelty when you speak it.

• Add a conversation starter
• Start with who you are
• Include what you do and how you do it
• Identify a problem
• Explain your achievements
• Add a little spice of what makes you unique (offer a solution to the problem)
• Add how does the current opportunity relate to your goals and aspirations

Some last minute but important points to keep in mind are:

• Edit the draft
• Read aloud
• Keep the words that you use in speech than writing
• Make it sound natural
• Practice and revise

Elevator Pitch Example 1

Hi, My name is Jane Doe. I work as a Project Manager and I specialize in the initiation to execution of projects. In my 5 years of professional experience, I have realized that every organization needs coordination and communication without which handling can be chaotic. I have worked on applications that can organize project communication and handling in one place. Would you like to know more about it?

Elevator Pitch Example 2

Hi, so pleased to meet you. I am Adrianna Rich. I recently graduated from Utah University in Journalism and Communication. I have worked with the college editorial board as a newspaper editor. Do you know 95% of the headline that catches readers' attention is sensationalist stories? I am looking forward to covering such stories and building a career in the same.

Elevator Pitch Example 3

Good Afternoon. I am Anwar. I work for TLS Connections as a Sales Manager. Due to the pandemic, most of the workforce shifted online, and reaching out to clients became a tough task. Thankfully we managed to connect through our in-house sales application that has connected our clients to one place. Every company opts for different tools but ours have shown an increase in sales productivity. If you would like to know more about my sales strategies, we can connect over a call.

Elevator Pitch Examples for Students

For students who do not have much experience, what could be spoken in an elevator pitch? Let us have look at some examples.

Elevator Pitch for Students Example 1

Hi, my name is Joanna. I am a recent graduate from the University of Delhi. I work as a freelance content writer for an education consulting company. I also write movie reviews for Delhi Times. Recently, one of my movie reviews about Kashmir Files trended on Twitter. You might have come across it. Would you be interested in sending me some contacts who are looking for engaging and buzz-worthy content?

Elevator Pitch for Students Example 2

Hi, I am Abraham. I am in the final semester of my MBA in Hospitality and Communications, which I am pursuing at the University of North Texas. I have done an internship as Junior Customer Assistant with XYZ Company. Offering tailor-made solution to every customer satiates me. Working for XYZ Company, I improved their mobile application performance by heeding customer feedback. I also increased their customer retention to 38% and now I am looking forward to creating more such results for your company.

Elevator Pitch for Students Example 3

My name is John and since childhood, I have been completely interested in programming. My father helped me write a basic algorithm to build a game. It amused me so much that I took up a Computer Science degree to pursue my education. Currently, I am in my sophomore year and I have been reading a lot about generating sales by creating user-friendly mobile applications. Would you allow me to connect with you anytime soon so that we can discuss this in detail?

Elevator Pitch Examples for Business

A business professional always comes with a lot of experience. The elevator pitch for them could be slightly different from the fresher. Here are a few elevator pitch examples for business.

Elevator Pitch for Business Example 1

Hello, my name is Adrian. I represent the Rein water purifier. Do you know about 1.3 million people in the world die due to inaccessibility to clean water? We at Rein have found a way to tackle the problem of inaccessibility by providing clean and safe water. We are opening up some new markets and I hope to bring you to the forefront of our brand new campaign. Our products are manufactured using a new filtration system designed to supply healthy water free of harmful minerals and other types of pollutants. We are setting up our campaign booth tomorrow and I hope you would come. Here is my business card in case you have any queries.

Elevator Pitch for Business Example 2

Hello, my name is Kathy. My company develops and designs personalized online sales funnels. We offer online customers to enjoy the perfect user experience tailored to their needs and interests, and also give them automated solutions that dramatically increase sales. We helped our last client increase their online sales by 120% month-on-month. Does your company have experience in e-commerce automation?

Elevator Pitch for Business Example 3

Has it ever happened to you that you rushed towards your car and then you realize that you forgot your car keys? Relatable, right? In fact, on average, a person misplaces their car keys more than 5 times per month. To fix this problem, I have built a low-cost key tracker that can find keys in no time. Currently, we are working on the prototype and hoping to raise funds for large-scale production to get to the market within the next 4months. Would you like to connect to discuss my idea further?

Mistakes to Avoid in Elevator Pitch

Often people end up speaking irrelevant things that might even be of no importance to the listener. We have talked about the points that must be kept in mind while framing an elevator pitch.

Now is the time to quickly look at what not to do in an elevator pitch:

• Do not speak fast
• Do not use one pitch for all occasions
• Do not use a lot of technical jargon that recruiters cannot decipher
• Do not make it one-sided. Instead, make it conversational.
• Do not sound underconfident. Practice as much as possible to sound natural.

Key Takeaways

Now that we have come to the end of our discussion on how to write an elevator pitch, let us keep in mind a few key takeaways

• An elevator pitch is a powerful representation of you, your company, or your product.
• It can help you get a job or expand your business by building networks.
• An elevator speech can be used in a career fair, in an interview, in expanding an online network, or in building offline networks too.
• To write an effective elevator speech, add a conversation starter, introduce yourself briefly, target the problem, offer a solution, and talk about how the current opportunity can add value to you and vice versa.
• Edit your draft as many times as needed. Practice in front of friends and seek feedback.
• Avoid rushing your elevator pitch. Speak slowly and confidently.

Now that you know how to write an elevator pitch, pen down your own 30-second impressive elevator pitch.

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