My previous blog examined a few of the characteristics of the elevator speech. But you already knew that. Now the question is: (I can't find my question. I seem to have misp... oh here it is under my jar of peanuts. Sorry.) What is the role of the elevator?
TRANSPORTING YOUR SPIEL
You have a few transport options:
THE ELEVATOR: With regard to vertical transportation, most people on elevators seem to prefer to rivet their eyeballs on the changing floor numbers or framed inspection certificate dated 1953 rather than striking up an eye-contact conversation with any human on board. The elevator speech can best grab the attention of your target in an uncrowded elevator. At conferences, however, when the elevator is a sardine can full of excited professors away from home with a few who have elevated blood-alcohol levels, inhibitions are thrown out of the hotel window if you could open it. There’s probably no “funner” group under those conditions.
OTHER TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS: Although these baby spiels about you were originally intended to prepare you for those chance encounters in an elevator, they can also be used on other forms of transportation, including escalators, moving walkways (aka “travelators”), taxis, conveyer belts, runaway buses like in Speed, NASCAR speedways, and most models of Toyota. (Sidebar: You should know that studies have shown that airport travelators actually slow people down from reaching their gates, especially if they wear bifocals or are drunk. In some cases, these delays may be due to business people clogging the walkways like plaque in your arteries as they speed-speak their “elevator speeches” while trying to walk. End of Slightly Inebriated Bar.)
NONMOBILE OPPORTUNITIES: You can field test your spiel with strangers at the grocery store, bank, curb-side airport check-in, airport security, pharmacy, doctor’s office, vet, and Royal Gala events involving the Queen of England, or the pizza delivery guy to observe reactions and polish your words. Then you’ll be ready to take your sound-byte into the air on your flight and on the road. It can also be used at all of the conference situations listed in my March 8 blog (You did read that blog, right?) when you are sitting next to professors like John Nash or Russell Crowe.
Now you know where to use the speech, but you don’t know what’s in it yet. What constitutes an appropriate elevator speech? What are the key ingredients that will make a lasting first impression and showcase you as a professional? The recipe will be provided in tomorrow’s blog. In the meantime, let’s be careful out there on those travelators.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
No comments:
Post a Comment