Have you ever been at a dinner party, reception, or other form of social gathering where someone asked
“...and what do you do?”How did you respond? Did you seize the opportunity to make a positive and lasting impression, or did you simply say something along the lines of
“I work for...” (yawn)
If, like most people, you answered with something short of an upbeat and engaging response, I’m afraid you not only shortchanged yourself, but also the individual who asked the question, as well as your colleagues, and perhaps even the company you work for.
“How is that?” you ask. Let’s start with the person who posed the question in the first place. By asking what you do, he or she was expressing interest in you. Personally, I think that’s kind of nice. Did you respond in a way that thanked and rewarded them for their interest?
And what about your colleagues and the company you work for? How might a cursory response have let them down?
Well, like it or not, when you responded to that question, you were not only speaking for yourself, but also for your company, colleagues and others in your profession. It is human nature to associate people, places and things. Consciously or subconsciously, we all do it. If your response was, shall we say, somewhat uninspiring, there’s a very good chance, on hearing it, the listener’s perception of the company you work for, and of others in your line of work, dropped a notch or two. Fair or not, it’s just the way the human mind works.
I suspect you’
ve already figured out how you may have shortchanged yourself, so let’s leave the past behind us and focus on what you can do to ensure that the next time you’re asked, you don’t shortchange anyone. Maybe the following will help:
In the early days of my career, after stumbling to respond to this very question, my somewhat harsh, but fair mentor of the day took me aside and told me
“When someone takes the time to take an interest in you, you owe it to them, to yourself and to the company, to be at least a little bit interesting. It is high time my boy, you prepared your elevator pitch.”
So what is an ‘elevator pitch’? It is sort of like your personal brand, followed by a byline or two. Perhaps I can best explain by way of the following examples:
Remember the story of the janitor at NASA, who, when asked what he did, proudly replied
“I help put people in space” or better yet, the financial advisor who responded to the same question with,
“I help people realize their hopes and dreams.” Both of these individuals went on to enthusiastically explain how what they did made a real and meaningful contribution to the people they served and the companies they work for; and you can bet their listeners were impressed.
Like theirs, your elevator pitch should consist of a few up-beat sentences that describe your work in terms that both engage and inform the listener; not to mention make you feel good about yourself and what you do. It’s called an ‘elevator pitch’ because it needs to be short - something you could easily deliver in the 15 - 20 seconds it would take to travel a few floors, but expandable (just in case you find yourself in a really tall building). The main thing to work on is the first line or two. Get that right and the rest will come naturally. Think about how you contribute to your customer’s success, enrich their lives, or help them achieve their dreams.
Over the years, I’
ve modified my elevator spiel several times. Here is how it currently starts:
I'm the founder and senior consultant of Wavemaker Consulting. At Wavemaker we are committed to raising the bar on service quality by helping the companies we serve provide a customer experience that is second to none! I contribute by....Everyone should have a
pre-prepared elevator pitch. If you don’t, why not take a couple of minutes right now and develop one.
You never know when someone might ask
“…and what do you do?”
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Ade McCormack, a business associate of mine in the UK, recently wrote the following on his blog IT BEACON which, as you may have guessed, is directed primarily at executives in the Information Technology world. My sense however, is the message conveyed in this article applies equally well to executives, managers and supervisors in virtually all functions and every line of business.
