Your Elevator Speech

The elevator speech is a 30-second speech that effectively describes a person, business or idea. It is called the elevator speech because a ride in an elevator takes about 30 seconds. The speech is meant to persuade and convince someone in half a minute. In addition, the speech should make the listener feel more comfortable and at ease about your speech topic.

Purpose:
Your elevator speech enables the listener to become quickly aware of specific, unique, and impressive attributes you can bring to their organization/business.

Advantage:
You come across more poised and confident simply by opening with your elevator speech.

Uses:

• At a Career Fair: Introducing yourself to an employer.
• At an interview: in answer to the statement "Tell me about yourself."
• Professional, social, or organizational meetings: when you are asked to introduce yourself.
• When cold calling employers for a future position.

Contains Personal Attributes:

• Uses crisp, concise and memorable language – not over-detailed and rambling statements.
• States the position you are seeking.
• See your professional abilities and experience.
• Emphasizes your individual strengths and links them to the perceived needs of the employer.
• Uses descriptive statements of your acquired skills and abilities.

Building Your 30-Second Elevator Speech:

The structure of a 30-second elevator speech follows this pattern:

1. Introduce yourself, if appropriate.
2. State what your goal is, relevant to the person you are talking to.
3. State a strength or skill they would be interested in.
4. Follow that with an accomplishment that proves you have that skill. You can repeat steps 3 and 4 if you'd like, up to 2 times.
5. Tell what you are looking for in a job.
6. Most importantly, tell how you can immediately benefit the company

Remember: keep your elevator speech focused on the needs of the employer!.

Questions To Answer:

• What is your career goal? (usually in the form of doing something for someone)
• What skill or strength do you have that would help you realize that goal?W
• hat accomplishment proves you have that skill or strength?
• What are you searching for in a job?
• How can you immediately benefit the company?

Your Elevator Speech

My name is ........................, I am a student at UND, majoring in ..............................

I want to (Career Goal)......................... I am (Strength)..............., which i demonstrated when I (Accomplishment)................

I am looking for a job where I (job, environment details) .................................

I can be immediate benefit to your company because (How) ...........................

Tips:

• Write down your elevator speech on paper.
• Practice saying it several times.
• Don't memorize it. Focus on the ideas, not the words to avoid blanking out.
• Consider recording your elevator speech so you can hear what it sounds like.
• Try to make your speech conversational, which maintains the listener's attention.
• If you have too many major points, consider narrowing the major theme to make the speech less than 30 seconds.
• Don't try to pack too much information into your elevator pitch. Make it short, informative and interesting so that a prospective client will want to know more.