(Elevator) Pitch Perfect: Tailoring your message for different professional occasions
Why one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to telling your professional story
Before going to networking events, I prepare an elevator pitch to describe professional myself. It varies by the type of event, and there is a surprising amount of preparation involved.
For example, I once attended the following 2 events within the same week:
A major conference about data and analytics with at Toronto’s biggest convention centre
A fireside chat with a major governmental official in financial supervision at a consulting company and hosted by a university’s alumni association
Let’s break down the elevator pitch for each event.
The first event was a conference for my profession - data and analytics. Thus, most attendees knew what a statistician is. They were most interested in
where I work
the type of business that my employer conducts
what I do in my role
Thus, I had to quickly tell them about my employer, Acosta, because it is not a well-known company to the general public. I needed to describe the intermediary role that it plays in sales, marketing, and merchandising between retailers and suppliers of consumer packaged goods (CPG).
I needed to define what "merchandising" is, because most people don't know what that means. (It sounds familiar and self-evident, but it has a very specific meaning in my industry.)
I named some of the well-known clients that are publicly listed on Acosta's website (The Coca-Cola Company, Kellogg Company, The Campbell's Company, Nestlé). This made it easier for someone to latch onto what Acosta does, while also not divulging any confidential information. (Some clients do NOT want to be publicly identified.)
I then told them what my role is as a statistician: To measure the return on investment (ROI) of Acosta's services on the sales of our clients' products.
The second event was an alumni reception hosted by my alma mater, Simon Fraser University. Thus, people asked what I studied at SFU.
Although I majored in chemistry and minored in mathematics, I highlighted my current career as a statistician in the retail industry - specifically for groceries and consumer packaged goods.
They were less likely to know what a "statistician" is, so I used the term "data scientist" instead; it is more familiar and self-evident.
Of course, I explained my job in more depth as needed. I used fewer industry-specific terms and acronyms (like CPG or ROI), because the people there were less likely to work in data & analytics. They came from many different fields - some of which were not technical at all.
Do you now see how much detail and foresight there is in an elevator pitch?
It took a lot of cognitive empathy - thinking about what the audience knows and does not know, and then tailoring my elevator pitch accordingly. After crafting the message, I also needed to practice it verbally. This entire process can take 1-2 hours.
Take the time to craft a good elevator pitch about what you do professionally - whether it is your full-time job, side business, or academic path. Practice it until you can deliver it clearly, concisely, and confidently. A smooth elevator pitch will pay many dividends for you at networking events - no matter the occasion or audience.