What is an Elevator Pitch? How does it impact you in the various walks of your life especially during the interviews. This article will help you understand this and introduce you to the tips on how to master the art of creating the perfect elevator pitch.

The road to any opportunity perhaps starts with your first impression and therefore it becomes so important in the life cycle. 

Let’s assume you are jogging in the park and suddenly you see Bill Gates jogging by your side, smiling at you. 

What would you do? What would you say? You know that perhaps you would only see him for 30 to 60 seconds post which he would take a turn to another lane in the park. 

You love Microsoft and you have been aspiring to join your dream company. What would you do?

You just have a minute to impress him, to let him know about your aspirations and also talk about what problems can you solve and what solutions can you bring on the table. 

Now this might be a far-fetched scenario but I am sure you would have figured out by now the point that I am trying to drive here. 

I suggest everyone no matter what you do, prepare an impressive pitch for yourself and keep it ready all the time when you get an opportunity to deliver. It is your brand identity.

Let me first explain what is an “Elevator Pitch”?

In simple terms, it is a quick summary of your professional experience that reflects your skills and achievements in the most concise way. 

It is your sales pitch that should be delivered in a very short span of time, literally by the time the elevator reaches to the next floor. It may sound funny but that’s the concept behind this word THE ELEVATOR PITCH.

You have only 60-100 seconds to bundle up all your stories in a way that it leaves an amazing first impression for you and gets you a great start in the conversation. That’s about it. 

Do you have it ready now? 

I am certain your answer is NO.

Have you thought about it very actively?

Another NO, for sure.

Have you sincerely worked on it? 

Perhaps another NO.

Take a pause and think through it. 

How can you make an awesome first impression given 150 seconds and 2 minutes? What will you put into your Elevator pitch – perhaps your most important projects/achievements? And not to forgot that mindset that it is about THEM? Not you, so the elevator pitch should have adequate mix of what can you bring on the table for them? What can you do for them? Or what can you solve for them?

Let’s talk about it a little more with the context of its role during the interview process. 

An engaging pitch is a great start of the interview and it can convey nicely why you are the perfect fit for the organization. Believe it or not, it also acts as an icebreaker and a great starting point paving the way for a good professional conversation. A well written elevator pitch can do wonders and can help your candidature stand out from the crowd breaking the clutter. 

And how can you do that? Well, it boils down to your unique storyline, that encompasses your skills, experiences, lessons, strengths and so on. And all that has to be condensed into an appealing, well engaging 100 seconds pitch that can tell the interviewer that you are THE MOST DESIRABLE CANDIDATE for the role in discussion. 

What you also need to understand that the role of an Elevator pitch is not to convert a conversation into a job offer, it is to give you a great start and inculcate interviewer’s interest in what you can offer, or get him/her to a point where a faint decision is already made up in his/her mind.

A few guidelines that can help you get started and get going is as follows:

• • Introduce: This is the starting point, talk about who you are, what is your designation, or very succinctly your hobbies/interests (keep it to professional ones)

• • Current Position/Project: Start with your current position – what you are doing now at present. It could be a project you may be working on in the current organization or could be finishing up a research project in your college last semester or last year and so on. It will infuse immediate credibility into your elevator pitch.

• • Unique Storyline- Bring something unique about yourself, a hobby, a skill, an experience, a lesson learnt or a timely execution, but remember it has to be the big-ticket item of your life. You could talk about a book that has left an indelible impact on your life. 

Finally, to help you get started, here is a proven structure you can follow to draft your elevator pitch. It should have a good balance of a Problem you faced, the solution you provided and the benefits it reaped.

Don’t just get started, but spend time with these three factors that are integral part of any elevator pitch. I strongly recommend, go through the elevator pitches available online, and study them well. Spend time with them, try to find out patterns and things that stand out, the things that you loved about them.

Collect information, make your own guidelines and work with them while you draft yours. Remember elevator pitches are not about flowery language, it is about reflecting your brand identity in a conversation leaving a strong positive impression on the interviewer. 

Lastly, despite its very short length, an effective elevator pitch requires investment of meaningful time, perhaps hours and days, to mull over it, to refine it and practice in front of the mirror countless times. The more you practice your elevator pitch, the more comfortable and confident you will get with it.

And that is the key to gaining immediate trust, that could pave the way for a bright conversation. But not to forget that elevator pitches are so important, they should always be supported by more in-depth details if the opportunity arises. 

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