It works in the movies

In the movie, Working Girl, Tess (played by Melanie Griffith) makes her pitch to the head honcho of the company. She has to convince him of her talent or else she'll be kicked to the curb.

And, of course, I'm telling you this because Tess does this in the elevator. This is her do-or-die pitch, and you can take a look at it via this link.

It's not the kind of elevator speech that you might ever have to give, but what you can key into is this: in 30 seconds or less, you walk away knowing her confidence, assuredness, knowledge, preparedness, and passion. And, she's told her what's in it for you.

Your personal commercial

So, I teased you last week. I know. But, it's worth waiting for.

Seriously.

An elevator speech is your personal commercial. That's right. It's your commercial, and you are director/producer/writer of this commercial called "How do I remember you? What's in it for me?"

In 30 seconds or less, your elevator speech will tell me the highlights of your career, your accomplishments, your professional successes, and why do I want to know you? And, with the Networking Tips class just around the corner, you will all have a chance to pitch them pretty soon.

There'll be some time during the 1.5 hour workshop to work on the elevator speech, but it couldn't hurt to have a head start, right?

So how can you get going? I found this information on google, written by Kip Piper and published at http://ezinearticles.com/?Craft-an-Effective-Elevator-Speech&id=1784355.

For your convenience, I have pasted the information below.

Step 1: Map it out
• Who am I and what do I have to offer?
• What am I looking for and why?
• What can I contribute?
• What would I like?

Step 2: Ask yourself the following questions to help round out your preparations and give depth to your message.
• What is my purpose? What am I trying to accomplish?
• What would be a successful outcome?
• How do I want people to feel?
• What do I want people to remember?

Keep in mind the basic elements of an effective elevator speech:
• Concise: An effective elevator speech is succinct, containing as few words as possible, but no fewer.
• Clear: Rather than being filled with acronyms, jargon, and ten-dollar words, an effective elevator speech can be understood by your grandparents, parents, and the kid next door. Make sure the audience understands what you are talking about and what's in it for them.
• Informative: As much as is possible, an effective elevator speech is specific and tangible. Talk about demonstrable accomplishments and goals.
• Engaging: Your elevator speech is a conversation starter, not a monologue. You want to spark the interest of your audience, not bore them.
• Finish with a Request: At the end of your pitch, you must ask for something. Do you want their business card, to schedule a full presentation, to ask for a referral?Put your plan into action:
• Write out a script.
• Practice in front of the mirror, and with friends, family, or CES. Record it, and listen to it. Do you sound confident? Sincere? Is it engaging?
• Ask for feedback.

Once you get a chance to try out the speech, think about how it worked for you:
• How did you feel?
• How did your audience react?
• Was there something you wish you had said?
• Was there something you wish you had not said?
• Update your speech and get ready for the next time!

Sample Elevator Speech
"I am Kip Piper of MTC Interactive. I work with independent professionals and small business owners to get more customers, get them to spend more and get them to spend more frequently by implementing a systematic marketing strategy that utilizes both printed materials and the Internet."(End with a request, such as for a business card, appointment, or a referral, depending on your audience. For example, "May I have your business card to send you some information?")

Elevator Speech Template
I am _________________ of__________________________. I work with _________________________ to __________________________________ by_________________________.Try it out as often as you can. If the other person immediately responds, you have a winner. If their eyes seem to glaze over, they give you a confused look or if they bob their head with a fake smile on their face, you may consider tweaking it a bit.

Your Elevator Speech

Have you ever ridden up an elevator and someone asks you, "So tell me about yourself"?

Do you already know what you're going to say?
Do you already have your elevator speech?

Or, are you asking..."what's an elevator speech?"

I'll tell you more about it next week...but keep in mind that it's the first thing you'll need to learn in order to be successful with networking.

Nuff said.

What's in it for me?

There are two stations--FM and AM--that we're always tuned into, and knowing what those stations are help make us not just better listers, but EFFECTIVE listeners.

By being effective listeners, we can understand what our customers are really trying to say and adjust our own communication style to get the message across. By being effective listeners, we can move mountains and make the rain fall down.

Well, 2 out of 4 ain't bad.
Grace Balch kicked off the March 18th session with this image, and letting us know the two most important stations on the dial:

• What's In It For Me?
• Make Me Feel Important And More!

But wouldn't you know that the way to communicate on both of these dials varies because the way in which we tune in depends upon on our own individual listening styles.


There a a total of 5 different listening styles:

• Appreciateive
• Empathic
• Comprehensive
• Discerning
• Evaluative

In the pictures above and below, you can see Mark, Rick, and Cheryle taking the Listening Profile instrument in order to determine their own listening styles?

To be an effective listener, Grace encouraged us to match listening approaches to communication needs. You need to focus on your message's intent, determine the motivation for the listener to tune in, and apply behaviors that accommodate to their listening style.

After discovering our own personal listening styles, we formed small groups to discuss these items:

• How would you explain your listening style to the other groups?
• What behaviors in the workplace exemplify your listening style?
• What can others do to get you to tune in?
• What are the challenges in having your listening style?
• What can you do to overcome problems related to your listening style?

Above, you see Kimberly and Maissha share the highlights of their discussion with UExplore colleagues.
Michelle and Cindy take their turn too.

As well, Crystal, Alexis, Tehseen, Josie, and Katrina share similar listening styles.

Listening to the discusions are members of the "evaluative" listening style group: Rick, Taylor, Kesha, Brian, Scott, and Cheryle.

For good measure, we all participated in a test. Grace played 5 audio tape messages, and we guessed the listening style demonstrated in each audio piece.

And, of course, our score was 100%

Build A Star Job Application!

I learned so much this month about resumes, cover letters, and references this month.

And, Wes and I have culled that information together to bring you this one-page handout.

Check out "Build a Star Resume!"

How do you format a cover letter?

And, from Sharecase's resume workshop, I also got tips on how to write a cover letter.

Check it out!
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Sample Star Resumes

You have spoken.

We have answered.

I recently attended two resume writing workshops, and I am here to share the goodies with all of you.

From the March 2009 Career Connection workshop, I received this winning example of a resume for Mary Jane Doe.

From yesterday's presentation, I've got two versions of good resumes: one that's a template and one from Jane Doe.

In general, these resumes can be accessed on the Academic Affairs UExplore website.
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