{"id":2613,"date":"2013-04-04T09:05:34","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T16:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=2613"},"modified":"2023-05-15T11:09:09","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T18:09:09","slug":"how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do\/","title":{"rendered":"How Well Do You Articulate What You Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As established business owners, startups or experienced entrepreneurs we\u2019re often called upon to give some kind of version of an elevator pitch. In fact, if you fall into any of these camps you ideally never stop selling your business, product, service or idea.<\/p>\n

There are, however, major costs if you don\u2019t sell yourself, your business, idea or offerings well; from missing out on significant investor funding and strategic alliances to sales opportunities and vendor deals.<\/p>\n

What is an elevator pitch and what basic issues should you address? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

For the uninitiated an elevator pitch is a punchy pr\u00e9cis of what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it, all rolled into one relevant, articulate, concise and memorable benefit statement. It is aimed squarely at your target audience – ideally the person or people right in front of you.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all, no pressure! No wonder we can find it challenging.<\/p>\n

So challenging in fact that this is a two-part blog.<\/p>\n

To make the process easier though here are some of the vital elements in preparing your pitch, breaking them down one by one:<\/p>\n

1. Make your presentation relevant<\/h3>\n

This is vital to start with because the more relevant you are with both your content \u2013 and what\u2019s in it for this audience (whether that\u2019s one or many) – the more likely they are to listen to you.<\/p>\n

All of us are constantly asking ourselves, \u2018what\u2019s in this for me?<\/em>\u2019 It\u2019s only human. And in business, it\u2019s simply human business. So before you even start to espouse all the wonderful things you have to offer, think about them first.<\/p>\n

Have you ever been at a networking event and had someone inundate you with everything they do without once asking about you or your business, or even taking a moment to breathe to check your reaction. That\u2019s often referred to as \u2018spray and pray\u2019 as opposed to giving your audience a more targeted experience with relevant benefits specifically aimed at them and their drivers. Bringing us to our next point …<\/p>\n

2. What are their core drivers? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ask yourself what they\u2019d want out of it. Even better, call people just like them and find out what truly benefits them. What will drive them to buy or be engaged? Money, fame, status, an easier life, more time perhaps?<\/p>\n

Each of these may be specific to your audience. In sheer marketing terms this is called researching your market, and it will pay big dividends, especially if you allow the research to inform your content, delivery, and the tone of your presentation.<\/p>\n

3. Find the appropriate tone in both your content and delivery<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Part of that tone will be informed by where you\u2019re giving this presentation, and for what purpose.<\/p>\n

A ‘Pitch Fest’ on stage with other entrepreneurs needs a completely different dynamic, tone, language and energy level to an impromptu conversation with a stranger sitting in the seat beside you on a plane.<\/p>\n

For instance, if you\u2019re giving a pitch to a panel in front of other entrepreneurs, no matter how compelling your concept, your delivery needs to take into account your audience. This is show time!<\/p>\n

On the other hand, a conversation on the plane to a complete stranger will be a process of discovery as you find out more about them and take a to and fro approach, feeling out whether there\u2019s even a genuine synergy, and if so, how you can weave in what you do, why and how you do it in such a way that will appeal to them. It will also be delivered with much more ease, and a more relaxed energy. Unless of course you want them reaching for their headphones.<\/p>\n

4. Articulate your main selling points<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now that you know what they may be looking for, break that down by framing the conversation in terms of:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • What\u2019s in this for them?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What else do they get?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What\u2019s their personal upside?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Asking you to suspend disbelief for a brief moment, let\u2019s say window wipers didn\u2019t exist and you\u2019ve just invented them to take to market. Your presentation might give these answers to the questions above:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Clean windows<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Safer driving experience<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Personal peace of mind for them and their family<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      If we tell someone they get clean windows, their answer (spoken or worse, silent), may be \u2018So? That\u2019s it?<\/em>\u2019 We\u2019ve inadvertently undersold the experience by under-articulating it.<\/p>\n

      Which brings us to our next points on being concise, precise and memorable, which we\u2019ll give you in part two of \u2018How Well Do You Articulate What You Do?<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n

      For now, work on articulating your content, keeping in mind your audience, what they want to hear most, and how they want to hear it.<\/p>\n

      As with all your presentations, practise, practise, practise! Make the benefits more about what\u2019s in it for them than they are about you or your brilliant idea. The irony being, of course, that if you do articulate your idea well, the ultimate benefits could very well be for you both.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/p>\n

      Phil Preston and Michael Neaylon are the Co-founders and Directors of\u00a0Presentability. They are\u00a0entrepreneurs who facilitate influential and persuasive presentation skills programs to equip you with the skills and confidence you need for even greater presentability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      As established business owners, startup founders or experienced entrepreneurs we\u2019re often called upon to give some kind of version of an elevator pitch \u2013 a punchy pr\u00e9cis of what we do, who we do it for, and why we do it. So why do we often find it so challenging?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":9121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Well Do You Articulate What You Do?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An elevator pitch is a punchy pr\u00e9cis of what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it, all rolled into one concise and memorable benefit statement.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Well Do You Articulate What You Do?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An elevator pitch is a punchy pr\u00e9cis of what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it, all rolled into one concise and memorable benefit statement.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zippia For Employers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-04-04T16:05:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-15T18:09:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/How-Well-Do-You-Articulate-What-You-Do.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"770\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"401\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jenn Steele\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jenn Steele\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do\/\",\"name\":\"How Well Do You Articulate What You Do?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-04T16:05:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-15T18:09:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/08314e2cf14b589a12bb79c51e244414\"},\"description\":\"An elevator pitch is a punchy pr\u00e9cis of what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it, all rolled into one concise and memorable benefit statement.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-well-do-you-articulate-what-you-do\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Well Do You Articulate What You Do?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\",\"name\":\"Zippia For Employers\",\"description\":\"How to find the best employees.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/08314e2cf14b589a12bb79c51e244414\",\"name\":\"Jenn Steele\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3e5ab6aee56e035953065cc1aee56054?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3e5ab6aee56e035953065cc1aee56054?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jenn Steele\"},\"description\":\"Jen Steele is a dynamic, results-driven leader with over two decades of experience in the technology and marketing industries. 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