The "brief presentation" i.e. the Elevator's Pitch for a successful networking
Elevator's pitch for a successful networking The average concentration span for an adult is fairly brief, it’s a little over one minute according to psychologists. Therefore it’s important to establish a method to make an excellent initial impression when you are developing a relationship, in order to provide a general overview of your previous experience and what you are looking for within the attention span of your interlocutor.
You need to create a “short presentation” that responds to the question: “Tell me about yourself”. It should be used during networking, interviews and meetings in general. It is a means for expressing in a clear manner your career objectives and simultaneously giving your interlocutor a positive and durable impression.
Suggestion: present the basic outline so that your interlocutor can ask you to speak about anything they might consider to be of interest. During this period you can also speak about your recent professional history. A quick indication on the type of work you do, the problems you are able to solve and the type of organisation, industry or professional area you have had experience and success in.
There are two types of presentations you might need:
- short (60’, 90’ or 4 minutes)
- long (10 minutes).
You should use the short presentation:
- In a cafe or restaurant
- On the telephone, in an email
- On a train, when you are travelling
- On the ski slopes, at the swimming pool
- At a conference at a party
- At the start of a job interview.
An outline
- Who you are
- What you do
- What market / sector do you work in
- What are your “hard” / “soft” skills
- What can you do / what can you offer / what are the services you can offer
- Think of providing more detail as follows:
- A specific skill
- An achievement (a success story)
- A request
- A slogan.
Easy, don't you think?
It’s not at all to condense all these things effectively.
So put your mind at ease.
You need time, energy and dedication to:
- Analyse
- Think
- Write
- Repeat
- Try
- Refine
- Focus
And thus get your presentation.
An example of short presentation or elevator pitch
I am a 37-year-old industrial engineer and I have acquired a solid organisational and management experience mainly in international companies in the financial sector, with a special focus on start-up, restructuring and merger operations.
I have carried out project management activities for the definition and management of complex organisational and IT projects, where I dealt with analysis and re-engineering of processes, and the subsequent implementation of support IT systems.
While working in the financial sector I have overseen projects for the creation and distribution of financial products on the Italian market.
The companies I have worked with have contributed to my training and my results-based focus and have enabled me to improve my organisational skills and develop my ability to manage resources, conduct analyses and resolve problems.
