Tom Foreman: In order to make this really the way we want it to sound, is it's an ongoing practice of having significant interactions. He says a lot of times people will come up to him and say they're thinking about becoming a coach. At which point jessica blathers for two minutes, three minutes, sometimes, i swear to you, four minutes, uninterrupted.foreman: There's nothing i can grab out of that. And at a certain point i just kind of sit back and go, my hands are off the wheel. I'm not really listening to her any more. That's the moment we all want to avoid.
Tom Henschel: The Look & Sound of Leadership
Tom Henschel of Essential Communications grooms senior leaders and executive teams. An internationally recognized expert in the field of workplace communications and self-presentation, he has helped thousands of leaders achieve excellence through his work as an executive coach and his top-rated podcast, The Look & Sound of Leadership.
Key Points
An elevator speech is a crisp, concise, high-level summary of a complex, multi-layered topic.
It can be about whatever you do as a profession, but it can also be about anything else, like your recent vacation.
Elevator speeches get crafted … it doesn’t happen in the spur of the moment.
Creating an elevator speech doesn’t take long, but you have to choose to reflect.
An elevator speech is actually a conversation tailored to the other person.
Say a little bit, and then test the other person’s level of interest.
The longer you talk, the less effective you are.
The Three Qualities of a Great Elevator Speech
Keep it short
Be memorable
Tailor it to the listener
Resources Mentioned
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office* by Lois P. Frankel
Related Episodes
Enhance Your Executive Presence, with Tom Henschel (episode 272)
How to Grow Your Professional Network, with Tom Henschel (episode 279)
Tom Henschel Interviews Dave (episode 300)
Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.