Being able to convey a message in under 30 seconds is not as easy as it sounds. However with enough practice I think I can Lean up my communication skills. How about you?
I went to a networking event at TechTown in Detroit last week. What I enjoyed most was the new "30 sec elevator pitch" they did. The event was quoted as "Brave entrepreneurs are invited to step up to the mike and give a 30-second pitch for their businesses to hundreds of attendees"
The set up to give a pitch was very well done.
There was a huge timer on a screen that counted down 30 secs and then buzzed to show that your time was up. There was also a simple formula on the screen you could follow if you wanted:
- Your Name
- Your Company
- What services or commodities you offer
- One word that describes you today
What I found interesting was how difficult this was for some people, myself included.
About 80 out of the approx 250 attendees did give a pitch. Some I understood perfectly like Ring RIng getting you vanity toll free numbers, others said their pitch but I didn't understand what the company actually did.
The ones that stood out the most were still talking about "...offering the highest quality and best in class service with over 100 year of combined experience among our professional staff..." when the buzzer went off. They still hadn't said what service they offered.
How often do all of us use a string of 50-cent words or ramble on instead of getting to the point?
Since this event I've decided to "Lean" up my communication skills.
Twitter has helped by giving me only 140 characters to convey my message and I've been editing my new blog posts to Lean them up as well. Even in conversations with my family and friends I've reduced my ramblings and increased valuable content.
How well do you stack up.
Test: Set a timer for 30 seconds and say out loud what you do for a living.
FYI: I didn't pass this test the first time either.
