We all know that Elevator Speeches should be the short and simple answer to the often-asked question at networking events – ‘What do you do?’. Sometimes, they’re even clever, but most of the time they’re lame, too long and forgettable. Even so, they’re still a fact of business life.
So, that’s why I love Escalator Speeches. Assume you’re on the down escalator as someone passes by you going up on the other side. You only have a few seconds to communicate, so you must be focused, concise and engaging.
Mine is ‘I empower business leaders to take away the pain from workplace communication.’ Short, simple and likely to generate some questions when the other person turns around and follows me back down the other side.
The best one I’ve ever heard is from a financial planner colleague. He says “I help take people from fear and frustration to financial freedom’. (Thanks Lamar). Also short, simple, catchy and memorable. No mention of titles or words with lots of baggage. Both are benefit statements citing the value people receive when they work with us.
Crafting something that concise is a lot of work, I admit. But, it’s well worth the time and effort if you want to make a memorable impression on the escalator.