💡 How to Create Your Elevator Pitch and Introduction (Issue 616)
You only have a few minutes to make a great first impression
Before I dive into creating your elevator pitch, I finally got around to setting up a Patreon for my creative and artistic side — my writing, books, and art (vs. the career and business coaching part of my life). I suppressed this part of me for decades while building a "serious professional career." So now, I'm letting my creative soul come alive again.
I provide:
Early access to work-in-progress (nonfiction and fiction)
Sneak previews of book chapters
Invitations for beta and ARC readers
Members-only Q&A and polls
Behind-the-scenes peeks
Even a few of my poems and art!
The Elevator Pitch introduction
I’ve previously discussed the need for a professional introduction using your elevator pitch. You briefly describe:
Who you are.
What you do.
Who you help.
How you make that happen.
Please note this is not the same as the traditional “Profession + Company” statement that people often use when introducing themselves. Saying, “I’m a software engineer at Google,” is not an elevator pitch. It’s not even a very good intro to use at a conference, meeting, party, or networking event.
You should never let yourself be defined by your employer. You should never limit yourself to your job title, either. Let me tell you a story about that.
When I was a junior designer, I worked at Apple. I introduced myself at parties with, “Hi, I’m Larry. I’m a designer at Apple Computer.”
People’s eyes would light up, and they would say, “Cool! What’s it like working there?”
Later in my career, I worked at eBay as a designer and then as a design leader. Even though I was more experienced and successful, when people heard I worked at eBay, they sneered and turned away.
“Oh, eBay? That website looks terrible. What are you guys even doing over there?”
Nice, huh?
First of all, file this under, “Wow, people are so rude!” Second, how silly and shortsighted is that reaction?
By that point, I was a much better designer and an organizational leader with international experience. I also gained product management skills by running projects, building business models, and measuring business metrics. But, in their eyes, I was working at a “boring company” and not worth the conversation.
Lesson learned: Don’t let a job title or company name hold you back when you meet people.
However, you also shouldn’t get an over-inflated sense of your talent just because you work for the latest popular company. Just remember, MySpace was a hot place to work once, too. 🤣
Instead, think about how you would aspirationally describe yourself and sell what you can do. If you’re a junior employee and introduce yourself as a junior employee, new people will always view you as a junior employee.
What do you want to be known for? What matters the most to you? You’ll receive more career opportunities when you stand out and stand for something.
When speaking about yourself, let your passion, vision, and professional mission come through.
What do you find most interesting lately?
What problems do you solve?
How do you think about the world?
Who are you passionate about helping?
What do you most want to achieve in life?
Create your elevator pitch and intro
You probably have some new ideas this year for your future career path. That was the point of January’s article when I asked you to think about your goals and plans. You should consider how you want to position yourself to pursue that path.
Here is a basic elevator pitch format. Modify it and have some fun introducing yourself. Make it memorable and relevant for you.
Introduction with your name.
What you do.
Who you help.
How you help them, and the fundamental problems solved.
Your unique value proposition, why they should care, and your special sizzle.
For example:
“Hi, I’m Jane Nguyen. I’m an independent publisher specializing in writing by, for, and about women. I know how hard it can be to find an excellent editor and publisher when you’re a first-time author and no one wants to work with you. I ran into those issues myself when I published my first book 5 years ago, so now I help others knock down those barriers.”
If you are meeting someone new, you can finish with an open-ended question to keep the conversation flowing. For example, Jane might end with:
“Have you ever thought about writing a book? It seems like so many of us have an unfinished bestseller on our computer!”
You can use a longer elevator pitch format in emails, conversations, presentations, a professional bio, your “About” summary on LinkedIn, an “About me” on websites, etc.
However, there will be times when you need a much shorter version. There are also places where you have minimal character counts available (e.g., your Bluesky bio).
So, here are a few examples from real people to give you a sense of how they’ve approached it when they had to squeeze who they are and what they do into a few words:
“Designer, Writer, Provocateur. I write 20MinutesintotheFuture, a critical look at how tech is shaping our lives & what we can do for a better tomorrow.”
“I help new product leaders become fearless.”
“I’m the builder of unstoppable Sales teams.”
“I help sensitive high achievers stop doubting themselves.”
“Helping SEOs build innovative organic search strategies with easy-to-use tools, reliable data, and accessible training since 2004.”
“I report on the publishing industry and help writers understand the business they’re entering.”
Your career will evolve
Your career path is never fixed or certain. As you advance professionally, you are always learning, growing, and changing. What you want today is probably not the same as what you wanted last year, is it?
The world and global economy are evolving, as well. We’ve been watching thousands and thousands of people lose their jobs lately as companies tightened their belts. So, people will respond differently to your pitch now than last year.
My elevator pitch has changed significantly over the past 30+ years of my career. Who I am, what I do, and what matters to me are not the same today as even a few years ago.
For example, in a recent meeting, I introduced myself this way:
“Hi, I’m Larry Cornett. Through my coaching and newsletter, I help frustrated employees reclaim their power to create an Invincible Career and Life, which lets them do more of what they love every day and less of what they hate.”
As you use your new pitch and say it out loud, you’ll continue to refine it. You’ll want to adjust for your audience and their reactions to your words. But you’ll also change your pitch to make it sound more natural and memorable for you.
It is essential to be clear about who you are, what you do, and why you’re great. We all have only a moment to be noticed online and make an impression before people click away from our profiles.
The same is true for meetings and job interviews. You have a few minutes to make a great first impression and intrigue someone, so they want to learn more about you.
Practice, practice, practice!
Practice makes perfect, and this is especially true for intros and elevator pitches. You want yours to sound natural so it doesn’t appear forced or robotic. Would you like to share yours and practice with us? You can buy a ticket to our live meeting on February 17th, where you can listen to other people’s elevator pitches and rehearse your own.
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. My wife and I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe.
