DO PROFESSORS NEED AN ELEVATOR SPEECH TO NETWORK AT CONFERENCES?

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE NONBUDDY KIND
When you attend your professional conferences with your buddies, you will undoubtedly face encounters of the nonbuddy kind. You will run into peers from other institutions or planets whom you have not met and don’t know you from Stephen Hawking. These run-ins may occur in the following settings:

• Receptions
• Meals
• Bars and other evil hangouts
• Annual Banquet (traditional rubber-chicken dinner)
• Conference sessions
• Elevator/escalator

Typically, you may be standing or sitting next to someone you don’t know for an extended time period (30-sec. elevator ride to 2-hr. dinner). Wow, is that uncomfortable! So far, does any of this seem familiar? “NO!” Then what do you do at conferences? Stay locked in your room playing video games or tweeting your students? What’s that all about?

Any way, for those of you who can relate, what do you usually do in those situations? Do you ignore the person on either side or do you start up a conversation? If you're sitting at a round table, do you ignore the person on each side and strike up a conversation with a buddy across the table? If you initiate a conversation, keep reading. This blog’s for you. If you ignore everybody, buhbye!

THE INTRODUCTION
What do you say? How do you introduce yourself? I know you think you already know how to introduce yourself because you have a PhD or MD and you’re thinking: “Like how hard could that possibly be? I’m not a moron. Look at all of the ribbons with my titles dripping down below my nametag, you ninny.” Calm down. Don’t call me a ninny. You called yourself a moron. Don’t get upset. This is just a blog.

ORIGIN OF “ELEVATOR SPEECH”
Business-type people created an introduction to moi called the elevator speech (aka “lift speech” in UK), named after the familiar mode of transportation in most hotels,“Amtrak.” They have been using it for thousands of years to promote their businesses even before elevators were invented, when it used to be called a “stone stairs speech.” It was originally intended as a quick pitch about their business and what services or benefits it could offer a potential client.

That being said, what are the academic purposes of an elevator speech? How can you use it in professional conferences to network with other professors? Great questions. Unfortunately, I’m blogged out for today. Tomorrow I’ll answer those questions and, maybe, just maybe, define the characteristics of the speech. Stick around. This week is elevator week.

COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC