How To Make A Good First Impression With An Elevator Speech

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

One of the good things about being unemployed is that you can have access to free workshops! Last week I took a training course titled “Express Your Worth”, in which we created an elevator speech, and I loved it.

Honestly, I have been wanting to do that for a while but never took the time.

So today I will share with you my own elevator speech and show you how you can create your own.

You can download the free workbook to help you create your own here:

What’s an elevator speech?

An elevator speech is a 60-second promotional speech to show your skills and connect with people when you first meet them.

The idea is to get your listener interested in what you have to offer. It can be used for your personal life (for example when you want to make new friends) or your professional life (for example, when you are looking for a job).

Why you should have an elevator speech

• You will be more confident when you meet new people
• It’s a good icebreaker
• People will be interested and ask questions
• You will be prepared when you are asked to introduce yourself to a group, like a mastermind or networking

How to create your elevator speech

1. Your goal

The first step is to find out what is the goal of your elevator speech. You can create different speeches for different situations like personal and professional.

In my case, my goal is to get people interested in Hello Peaceful Mind and book clients for my photography business La Parisienne Boudoir.

Here are a few ideas:

• Find new friends
• Meet people with similar hobbies
• Get a new job
• Get new clients
• Promote your artwork

2. Their needs

Now that you know what you want to accomplish, think about how you can help them to bring interest to your story.

In my case, I am helping people dealing with depression/anxiety and to create the life of their dreams with my blog and I help women feel more confident and love themselves with my photography. Women need romantic photos for their social media profiles, their businesses, to surprise their partner on their wedding day, for maternity and for a much-needed self-care day!

If you are looking for a job, think about the requirements for it. If you are looking to connect with people with similar interest thing about what you need to pursue this hobby.

3. Your skills & experience

Now, think about the skills that you have to help them accomplish their needs.

In my case, I inspire people by being open with my personal struggles about living with depression and anxiety and creating a happy life, I also help women feel beautiful and more confident in their body.

I do have a lot of more skills like marketing, web design, social media, … but I try to keep it simple and focus on what will really connect with the person.

4. Your accomplishments

Now, think about everything that you’ve accomplished. It can be: special recognition, awards, goals, skills you’ve learned, something you did like climbing Mount Rainier (I know a few people who did it ;)), and include numbers when you can, to really show the impact that you had.

Write everything down and then select the ones that are relevant to your audience.

In my case, Hello Peaceful Mind received 200k unique visitors in its first year and as of January 2018, I have more than 11k email subscribers!

These are things that I am proud of because helping people makes me happy 🙂

If you need help, ask people!

5. Your themes

By now, you might feel like you are going all over the place. Especially when you have a lot of experience. So try to put all of your ideas into categories to help you summarize everything.

Remember an elevator speech is supposed to last less than 60 seconds, so keep it simple!

This is why I like the idea of selecting one of several themes.

My theme is helping people since this is what I do on my blog and my photography.

6. Put it together in the workbook

You are now ready to write your speech!

I like to keep mine clear, like bullet points. It’s easier to remember it.

Download the workbook to guide you through the process.

My elevator speech

Hi I’m Julie,

As you can hear, I am French 😉 (Usually I get comments because people are wondering what I’m doing in the USA).

I moved to Seattle after meeting my husband who is American while studying international business. (I set some romanticism to promote my boudoir photography)

I love helping people (my theme) and this is why I started Hello Peaceful Mind to inspire people to create the life of their dreams and deal with depression and anxiety (their needs).

In its first year, the blog received 200k unique visitors and the mailing list now has 11k subscribers! (Accomplishments).

It’s so heartwarming to think about all the people that I’ve inspired by sharing my personal struggles. (my skills)

Now, I want to have a more personal impact on women’s life with my photography skills. (my goal)

I help women feel confident and love their bodies (their needs).

I take: (my skills + their needs)

• boudoir photos to celebrate your beauty
• bridal photos to surprise your partner on your wedding day
• maternity photos to remember your first moments together
• branding photos for your online profiles and your business

You can find my work on www.HelloPeacefulMind.com and LaParisienneBoudoir.com

Here’s my business card!

(Have business cards ready so people can keep in touch with you, they might have interesting personal or professional opportunities)

Save for later

Further Reading:

• 56 Lists To Make When You Are Feeling Down
• 14 Pinterest Boards That Will Inspire You To Change Your Life
• Everything I Learned About Happiness In The Last Year
• 12 Hobbies That Will Reduce Your Anxiety And Make You Feel Fulfilled
• The Best Free Resources To Live A Healthy And Happy Life

Over to you:

Share your speech in the comments to inspire others!!