Elevator pitch

  Description: An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech used to generate interest in you, you product and/or you organization- Although to the point, it is intended to be powerful enough for you to be remembered by a prospective benefactor, investor, customer or partner. it can consist of anything from a concise explanation of who you are and what you do to a quick verbal sketch of you product or service/business- 1- Identify you goal- What do you want to tell potential clients? Do you have a new product in need of financing? Do you want to promote youself? Are you seeking a partner to help you develop you product or expand you organization? 2- Explain youself- Describe what you do, with an emphasis on how you or you product can solve problems or help people. Whenever possible, add information, statistics, data or testimonials that demonstrate value- 3. Communicate what is distinctive- Describe what is new, novel or particularly different about you or you product- 4- Start with a question- Just as a query in the introduction of a speech quickly focuses attention, a similar approach can jump-start an elevator pitch- Prepare open- ended questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no- 5- Put it all together. Assemble all the elements of you pitch and read it aloud- Time it- Out whatever doesn’t seem to belong- The shorter and more compelling, the better the pitch- 6- Practice- Simply because an elevator pitch is much shorter than a standard presentation doesn’t mean to skimp on priorities- You should be as confident in mastering this brief pitch as you are when delivering a six-minute speech- Pitches will be graded on meeting the criteria listed above, but also on creativity, cleverness, vivid writing and word choices, enthusiasm and other critical elements-