rdrew elevator speech

Confidential. Reproducing or Distributing this packet is not allowed without express written consent of © Ron Drew, PMP

Presented by:

Ron Drew, PMP

Create Your Elevator Speech

2Confidential. Reproducing or Distributing this packet is not allowed without express written consent of © Ron Drew, PMP

About Me

– IT Executive

• SAP, Oracle, FDA, .NET, Project Management, People Person

• Head of Coca-Cola Northeast

• CIO Beiersdorf North American

– Board of Directors Vice Chairman 20 years

• Financial Institution Non-Profit $250 million

• Executive Committee (4 members)

• Finance Committee (Rates, Budget, Compliance)

• Employee Relations Committee (ICP, Reviews, HR)

• Data Processing Advisor (Systems Outsourced)

– Board of Director on CBIT (Universities Computer Science Programs)

– Member Water Pollution Control Authority for Town of Fairfield

– Member Computer Advisory Committee for Town of Fairfield

– MBA, BS and AS degrees in Computer Science and CDP, CSP and PMP Certified

– Satellite Engineer for Internet/TV based dish


The Transition 101 ModelThe Transition 101 Model

Are you prepared to do each one of these steps?

AngerAnger

Help Me!!Help Me!!

StressStress

ReliefRelief

New FriendsNew Friends

FoundationFoundation

Onboarding Plan

Get a Job Offer

Networking+ LinkedIN

ResumeCover Letter

Interview

Layoff/Quit/F

ired

Elevator Speech

Marketing Plan

No Plan = 2 strikes to startNo Plan = 2 strikes to start


How Jobs Are Found

Internet Postings

Resumes

Elevator Speech

Must Be Clear

and Concise

Very

Important

Internet

Networking

How the Typical Job is Found

Recruiters17%

80% Marketing Plan

Network Group Leads

3%

Must Be Clear

and Concise


Quick Overview of theTypes of Networking Speeches

Announcement or Snippet

• A quick 10-15 second, to get the person’s attention and persuade

them to want more information from you.

Elevator Speech

• 30-60 seconds, letting the person know who you are, what you are

looking for and how you can benefit an organization.

Commercial

• 2-3 minutes of more information about you in detail.

• Be Careful...Don’t lose the person’s attention with boring detail.

Infomercial

• Go as long as the person wants you to.

• This may be your interview.

• Take breaks/stop talking to see if there is still interest to continue.


What is an Announcement?

Announcement is a quick, clear, concise bit of communication that can be

delivered in less than 15 seconds.

As it relates to the job search process,

1. It communicates who you are

2. And creates a point of interest to the listener

You want the listener to say “Tell me more”!


Example of a Announcement

Announcement #1:Announcement #1:

I am Ron Drew and I I am Ron Drew and I

get the “people thing”.get the “people thing”.

Announcement #2:Announcement #2:

I am Sally Smith and I I am Sally Smith and I

save lives.save lives.

Pharma ChemistIT Leader

Betty: Hi, my name is Betty Jones. I'm responsible for this country's future.

Listener: This I've got to hear about.

Betty: I'm a teacher! I love shaping the minds of the next generation, but I'm also

interested in getting into corporate training.

Listener: Tell me more.


What is an Elevator Speech?

An Elevator Speech is a clear, concise bit of communication that can be

delivered in 30-60 seconds.

As it relates to the job search process,

1. It communicates who you are

2. What you’re looking for

3. And how you can benefit a company or organization

It does not dwell on the past!

1. Do NOT talk about your last company unless it relates to the

person you are giving your Elevator Speech to.

An Elevator Speech is a forward thinking statement about:

1. Who you are

2. And what you bring to the party.

Hopefully the listener will say: “Tell me what you do”!


Prepare an Elevator Speech

� KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE- Before writing any part of your elevator speech, research your audience. You will be much more likely to succeed if your elevator speech is clearly targeted at the individuals you are speaking to.

• Having a generic elevator pitch is almost certain to fail.

� KNOW YOURSELF - Before you can convince anyone of your value proposition you need to know exactly what it is. You need to define precisely what you are offering, what problems you can solve andwhat benefits you bring to a prospective contact or employers.

Answer the following questions:

– 1. What are your key strengths?

– 2. What adjectives come to mind to describe you?

– 3. What is it you are trying to sell or let others know about you?

– 4. Why are you interested in the company or industry the person represents?



� OUTLINE YOUR TALK - start an outline of your material using bullet points. You don’t need to add any detail at this stage; simply write a few notes to help remind you of what you really want to say. They don’t need to be complete sentences.

You can use the following questions to start your outline:

– 1. Who am I?

– 2. What do I offer?

– 3. What’s my niche?

– 4. What problem is solved?

– 5. What are the main contributions I can make?

– 6. What should the listener do as a result of hearing this?



� FINALIZE YOUR SPEECH - Now that you have your outline of your material, you can finalize the speech. The key to doing this is to expand on the notes you made by writing out each section in full.

To help you do this, follow these guidelines:

– 1. Take each note you made and write a sentence about it.

– 2. Take each of the sentences and connect them together with additional phrases to make them flow.

– 3. Go through what you have written and change any long words or jargon into everyday language.

– 4. Go back through the re-written material and cut out unnecessary words.

– 5. Finalize your speech by making sure it is no more than 100 words long.

• Using MS Word, you can do a Tools, Word Count


Why Prepare an Elevator Speech?

� Actually, it is imperative to work on this 30-60 second presentation until it is perfectly crafted.

� This is the one kind of speech that I do suggest memorizing.

� Make it such a part of you that if someone woke you up from a sound sleep in the middle of the night, and asked you what you do, you would smoothly and without hesitation tell them your “elevator speech.”

� This speech will serve as your introduction to others, so it has to be good!

� A good elevator speech will most likely evolve over days, weeks,or months.


Why Do I Need A Elevator Speech

Elevator Speech is everything about you and your goals in 30Elevator Speech is everything about you and your goals in 30--60 seconds!!60 seconds!!

So you gave your elevator speech.

Does the Listener Remember?

•• Who you are?Who you are?

•• What you do?What you do?

•• Why you are unique?Why you are unique?

•• What your goal is?What your goal is?

At an Interview the Elevator Speech can provide the

answer to at least two common interview queries:

•• “Tell me about yourself.”“Tell me about yourself.”

•• “Why should I hire you?”“Why should I hire you?”


Elevator Speech versus Commercial

At its most basic level, the Elevator Speech's structure is:

Hi, my name is ___________. I'm in the _______________ field, and

I'm looking to_____________________.

You can stick with the Elevator Speech's basic structure and see where it takes you.

It probably will not take you far because it lacks two things:

1. A "hook" and

2. A request for action.

Beware of a Elevator Speech that inspires the thought

“So What?"like the above example.

A Commercial will piggy back on a good Elevator Speech!


Elevator Speech Contents

Describe WHO YOU are:Describe WHO YOU are:

Keep it shortKeep it short

Hint: What would you Hint: What would you

most want the listener most want the listener

to remember about to remember about

you?you?

Describe WHAT YOU do:Describe WHAT YOU do:

Here is where you state Here is where you state

your value phrased as your value phrased as

key results or impact.key results or impact.

Do you have a “tag” Do you have a “tag”

line or “hook”?line or “hook”?

Hint: This should allow Hint: This should allow

the listener to the listener to

understand how you understand how you

would add value.would add value.


Elevator Speech Contents

Describe WHY YOU are Describe WHY YOU are

Unique:Unique:

Show the unique Show the unique

benefits that YOU bring benefits that YOU bring

to the business.to the business.

Show what YOU do that Show what YOU do that

is different or better is different or better

than others. than others.

Describe YOUR Goal:Describe YOUR Goal:

Talk to your immediate Talk to your immediate

goals.goals.

Goals should be concrete, Goals should be concrete,

defined, and realistic and defined, and realistic and

include a time frame.include a time frame.

Should be apparent to the Should be apparent to the

listener what you are listener what you are

asking for.asking for.


Elevator Speech Do’s

�� Make your Elevator Speech sound effortless, conversational, and

natural. Preparation is key

(Don’t wing it!)

� Make it memorable and sincere. Be warm, friendly, confident, and

enthusiastic. A smile is often the best way to show friendliness and

enthusiasm, while a strong, firm voice the best way to express

confidence.

(Look at the Person You’re Speaking To)

� Keep it short

The wise words of Winston Churchill, "Be clear. Be brief. Be

seated.“

� Use concrete, listener-friendly language, but at the same time, don't

be afraid to paint vivid word pictures.



� Avoid an Elevator Speech that will leave the listener mentally

asking "So what?“

� Speak at a pace that shows your calm and confidence. You want

the listener to think of you as thoughtful and deliberate not as some

manic babbler.(But remember you only have 30-60 seconds)

� Consider including a compelling "hook," an intriguing aspect that

will engage the listener, prompt him or her to ask questions, and keep

the conversation going.

� Let your passion show(Facts actually don't speak for themselves; body language is important.)



� Remember the first rule of sales: ABC (Always Be Closing).

� Practice your speech.

Experts disagree about whether you should memorize it, but you should

know your speech well enough so you express your key points

without sounding as though the speech was memorized.

1. Let it become an organic part of you.

2. Many experts suggest practicing in front of mirrors and

role-playing with friends.

3. I also advise practicing in the car on the way to

networking events.

� Write and rewrite your speech, sharpening its focus and

eliminating unnecessary words and awkward constructions.



� Take it slowly. Don't rush through the speech, and do pause

briefly between sentences. Breathe.

� Try to achieve a second meeting with the person.

� Maintain eye contact with your listener.

� Focus on how you can benefit employers and help them solve

their problems. During your Elevator Speech the listener may be mentally asking,

"What's in it for me (or my company)?"

� Be prepared to wrap up earlier than you were planning if you

see the listener's eyes glazing over or interest waning.


Elevator Speech Don’ts

⌧ Focus just on yourself, this approach will almost assure a "so what?"

reaction.

⌧ Get bogged down with industry jargon or acronyms that your listener may

not comprehend.

⌧ Hesitate to develop different versions of your Elevator Speech for different

situations and audiences.

⌧⌧ Forget to include your competitive advantage; in other words. hForget to include your competitive advantage; in other words. how you can ow you can

perform better than anyone else. perform better than anyone else.

⌧⌧ Forget to update your speech as your situation changes. Forget to update your speech as your situation changes.

⌧⌧ Let your speech sound canned or artificial. et your speech sound canned or artificial.

⌧ Ramble. Familiarizing yourself as much as possible with your speech will

help keep you from getting off track.


Putting It All Together

Prepare and write down everything that comes into your mind first.

Now cut out all the jargon and details. Make your sentences strong short and powerful.

Now connect the phrases into sentences, and the sentences into a paragraph—and make sure that it all flows together smoothly.

Memorize the key points and practice your talk.

Ask yourself, “Have I really answered the key question my listener wants answered: what’s in it for me?”

Create different versions of the speech for different occasions.

And last but not least, make sure the whole speech is less than 100 words

Additional Notes: When developing an Elevator Speech for a specific employer you’ve targeted, do some research on the organization and incorporate that knowledge into your speech. And if you're cold-calling a hiring manager and get his or her voicemail don't be afraid to leave your Elevator Speech as a voice message.


Ron’s Elevator Speech---90 Words---

I am Ron Drew a dynamic technology leader that get's the "people

thing".

I have led a PMO, implemented SAP and Oracle, performed Merger

Acquisitions and built shared service centers.

My competencies are:

Strategic Planning “Aligning IT to Business; thinking out of the box”

Team leadership “Staff likes working for me; Dept Heads like working

with me”

Project Execution “Quality job done on time within budget”

Influence “It’s called credibility, communication and trust”

I am looking for a lead position in IT or PEG SWAT team and open to

consulting.

If NOT talking with an IT person or someone that would know IT, I would revise the second sentence and change

PEG SWAT to Private Equity Group Executive. As example: I have led major business applications, performed

Merger Acquisitions and built shared service centers.


Elevator Speech Examples

VP Operations:VP Operations:

My name is Maureen Smith My name is Maureen Smith

and I am seeking an and I am seeking an

operations professional operations professional

position. I analyze process, position. I analyze process,

technology and organization technology and organization

to find ways of improving to find ways of improving

the customer experience and the customer experience and

lowering your expenses. I get lowering your expenses. I get

results by working closely results by working closely

with the people who serve with the people who serve

your customers.your customers.

Project Manager:Project Manager:

My name is Jennifer Drew and My name is Jennifer Drew and

I am looking for a position as a I am looking for a position as a

project and portfolio project and portfolio

management professional management professional

specializing in financial services specializing in financial services

direct mailing marketing. I direct mailing marketing. I

ensure the flawless execution of ensure the flawless execution of

projects by applying industryprojects by applying industry--

standard controls and using standard controls and using

statestate--ofof--thethe--art marketing art marketing

tools. I'm a dedicated tools. I'm a dedicated

professional with a proven professional with a proven

track record of delivering high track record of delivering high

quality project results.quality project results.


Elevator Speech Examples

Financial Consultant:Financial Consultant:

My name is John Jones and I am

seeking a position as a specialist in

financial protection helping

individuals and families sleep

better at night. I help accumulate,

protect and distribute wealth as

well as protect life styles. As an

independent consultant I am not

bound by any one company's

products or services. I can truly

meet my clients' goals and solve

their problems. When is the last

time that you reviewed your life

insurance or evaluated your

retirement assets?

Marketing & Marketing &

Communications Communications

Manager:Manager:

My name is Sally Burns and I am a My name is Sally Burns and I am a

talented marketer specializing in talented marketer specializing in

transforming satisfied customers transforming satisfied customers

into raving fans. I differentiate into raving fans. I differentiate

companies through customized companies through customized

testimonials. Unlike fluff testimonials. Unlike fluff

marketers, I understand business marketers, I understand business

analytics and add to the bottom analytics and add to the bottom

line.line. I am seeking a position as

Marketing and Communications

Manager and open to consulting.


Questions ?????

Thank You…[email protected]

And Good Luck !!!!

This is your introductory speech.

You only have one chance to make a first impression.

Don’t waste it!

rdrew elevator speech

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