How to Give an Elevator Pitch (With Examples)
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An elevator pitch is a tailored introduction made in 30 seconds or less. The best pitches sell your skills and value for business opportunities like resumes, interviews, job fairs, conventions or project launches.
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What Is an Elevator Pitch + Free Template
The 30-second elevator pitch is designed to introduce yourself to fellow professionals during chance encounters, like elevator rides!
You can use these pitches to introduce and sell yourself in person or via career tools like resume summary statements, cover letters or letters of recommendation. With the following advice, templates, and elevator pitch examples, you’ll learn how to leave a strong impression to grow your network, create career opportunities, and build a professional reputation.
Here’s a general template for an elevator pitch about yourself:
“Hello, my name is [full name], a [job title or certification label] specializing in [key skill or industry]. I’m familiar with [person/company/project] and its work in [industry]. I’m passionate about [professional interest or career goal related to person/company/project]. With my background in [highlight achievements/projects], I’d love to collaborate with you and your team soon. I’m excited to [networking goal or mention opportunities] with you. Here’s my [business card/contact information].”
How to Prepare and Deliver an Elevator Pitch
How to write an elevator pitch is similar to writing a resume or preparing for an interview. You’re pitching a customized summary of your professional strengths to a potential employer or potential connection. The information you showcase will depend on the person and situation.
Create a master list of professional skills, experience and notable accomplishments. Memorizing these skills will help you quickly adapt to your professional encounters. Try to keep the following three topics in mind.
Who are you? You’re probably pitching to a stranger, so introduce yourself by name and relevant information, including your current job title or education, interest in a professional topic or experience in a related industry. The information you offer will depend on the person. For example, you might mention a collegiate club or specific class to college alums but discuss your interest in new technologies to an employee in that industry.
What can you do? This is the main part of your elevator pitch — the information you want a person to remember, the evidence of your qualifications and relevant skills. Some information you can share includes skills, professional values, career goals or key accomplishments.
What’s your main goal? End your elevator pitch by explaining why you’re speaking to them and what you hope to gain from this random encounter. Why are you pitching yourself to this person? Are you asking for a job or an information interview, proposing a merger, or selling a new product or service? Using action words can help you impart your message to people.
Practice! No one is perfect during their first attempt. Get comfortable with your pitch. Recite it to your friends inside and outside the home to get comfortable in different settings. Memorize key accomplishments and the evidence to back it so you can quickly recite them. Practice your breathing so you can calm yourself if you get nervous.
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5 Ways to Improve Your Elevator Pitch!
No one is perfect during their first attempt at anything, including introducing themselves to strangers. However, you can help yourself feel prepared and confident with these helpful elevator pitch tips.
Memorize your information: Most people can tell when you pitch a rehearsed introduction. Some people find it ingenious or off-putting. Instead of memorizing one specific elevator pitch, memorize key projects, details or skills. Not only does this help you sound natural during your pitch, but it also helps you improvise and customize your pitch to every person.
Tailor your pitch: Every job is unique — you need to tailor your elevator pitch to the needs of each industry, job and person. For example, a human resource manager will care more about your interpersonal skills than a management analyst at the same company. The management analyst would care more about your analytical skills. They may work at the same company, but you can’t use the same elevator pitch.
Time yourself: Have you ever been stuck in a conversation? Did you walk away with a positive memory of the experience? Most elevator pitches happen randomly, waiting for the light to change or standing in line — you can’t delay a person or demand more attention. In a slow, conversational tone, time your pitch until it doesn’t exceed 30 seconds.
Practice: You’ll feel confident if you know what you’re saying. Practicing your elevator pitches keeps your skills and accomplishments fresh in your mind, so you can react more quickly when a chance encounter happens!
Ask for feedback: It’s easy to feel nervous or too confident. Ask a friend or colleague to help you. Ask them to listen to your pitches, make suggestions or suggest random scenarios so you can learn how to improvise for multiple situations.
Elevator Pitch FAQ
What is a good elevator pitch?
The following is what makes a good elevator pitch.
- Short and specific.
- Highlights key skills or achievements.
- Expresses your enthusiasm or reasoning.
- Explains how you meet the listener's needs.
- Includes a call to action.
- Leaves a positive impression.
What are the three characteristics of a bad elevator pitch?
- Talking too fast: Keep your elevator pitch to 30 seconds at a comfortable speed so people can understand. Speaking too quickly can make you come across as nervous or desperate. You also risk overwhelming a person with too much information in too short a time.
- Avoiding eye contact: Body language is 55-90% of communication. We rely on eye contact and nonverbal cues to understand what we’re hearing. Keeping eye contact can help a person understand you’re speaking to them and engage with your pitch.
- All about me: Don’t talk about what you want from the person, but about what you can do for this person or their workplace. You are actively solving a problem for them, even if it’s a problem they didn’t know existed.
What is the biggest mistake one can make while preparing for an elevator pitch?
The biggest mistake you can make is using a cookie-cutter approach to your elevator pitch. We shared the above examples as guides to help you learn how others pitch themselves, but there’s no perfect elevator pitch template. Just be sure to introduce yourself, highlight skills and propose yourself as the solution to a problem.
Should you memorize your elevator pitch?
Don’t memorize an elevator pitch. Not only will you sound too rehearsed, but this practiced approach won’t let you show your personality. Instead, memorize key skills and industry-related achievements. This will help you customize your pitch to each person or project. You’ll still know all the information, but you’ll be more genuine and light on your feet. People will respond to that.