Another summary from HBR's Guide to Persuasive Presentations. This one gives you guidance on writing your 'Elevator Speech', which is a 30-second summary of your main speech or presentation. The idea is that if you only had 30 seconds (the length of a typical elevator ride) to deliver your 30 minute presentation, how could you do it? Read on for some tips...Here are the main pointers, starting with...
the Secret Sauce:
Effective elevator pitches can outline win-win objectives, and establish a launch pad for a deeper relationship.
the Secret Sauce:
- Grab the attention of the listeners
- Convince them with the promise of mutual benefit
- Set the stage for follow-up
- Speak in terms your audience can relate to; communicate with the passion that comes from knowing that this opportunity may never come again.
- Know the goal. -- the goal is not to get the funding/project/job/etc.. But it's to get approval to proceed to the next step.
- Know the subject -- know the topic well enough to summarize it in a single sentence
- Know the audience -- identify / research the needs/requirements of the target beforehand ( they must hear a benefit for themselves )
- Organize the pitch -- organize the flow of info to make it as easy as possible for the brain to digest
- Start with the introduction
- Move into a description of the problem
- Outline potential benefits for the listener
- Conclude with a request for permission to proceed to the next step
- Hook them from the beginning -- start with a provocative, counter-intuitive statement that will rev pulses.
- Plug into the connection -- Once you have their attention, deliver the message. Clarity is more important than jargon. Use analogies that the audience can relate to. Personalize the message by relating your solution to the audience needs
- Presentation matters -- speak with timely pauses
- Incorporate Feedback
- Use video to evaluate your own performance
- Give pitch to someone unfamiliar with the project; if they get lost in the jargon or fail to see the benefit, chances are your audience will stumble
Effective elevator pitches can outline win-win objectives, and establish a launch pad for a deeper relationship.
Post a Comment