The wedding officiant makes a classic Elevator Pitch mistake by announcing to the hundreds of people gathered on a roof deck in New York City last weekend that she’ll warm up the crowd (meaning us) while we wait for the wedding party to arrive via (an apparently very) slow elevator, and then launching into a 10 minute speech about… herself.
She talks about her history with the happy couple.
She talks about her excitement at the pending nuptials.
I’m sure that her goal is to get us just as excited as she is about the event.
Except that it backfires.
Because instead of listening to her story,
We’re all standing on our toes
Trying to peer through a brick wall
To catch a glimpse of the arriving elevator
So we can get on with the ceremony.
And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because how many times have you tried
To share your passion and enthusiasm,
Only to hear papers shuffling
Catch people glancing at their watches
Or get drowned out by the side conversations?
It’s because you’re talking about yourself
Instead of your audience.
Here’s how the wedding officiant could have made it about us:
She could have suggested that we turn to someone next to us
And ask where they are from
And how they know the happy couple.
Once we are sharing our stories
With each other
We’ll be plenty excited
We won’t notice the 10 minute delay
And it will be difficult to recapture our attention
When it’s time for the actual wedding to start.
So how do you make your Elevator Pitch about your audience?
Get them talking.
About themselves.
That’s what they find exciting.
How do you share your enthusiasm?