There are major limitations when elevator speeches are used in networking situations. An elevator speech doesn’t tell the whole story – it is only an invitation to further conversations. And the person you are ‘presenting to’ may have little or no interest in making that journey. A second and related limitation is that they almost always seem to come in pairs – your’s and mine.

Possession of an ‘elevator speech’ can indicate a predator on the prowl. Few people go to networking events to ‘give’ business – mostly they are looking to ‘find’ it. Some can’t wait until you are through with yours so that they can launch into theirs and begin ‘prospecting’. Others don’t seem to have the ability to go beyond their elevator speech. Like people we have all met who are very good at initial meetings but nothing more, these people seem to wander around the room depositing their ‘elevator speech’ in any available ear. If you probe deeper there doesn’t seem to be anything there.

But my two most serious problems with elevator speeches are 1) they are inappropriate in networking situations and 2) they are almost always anti-humanist. The idea of an elevator speech was developed in the venture capital industry – a short, crisp and focused presentation that was designed to attract the initial interest of a potential investor in your business proposition. In a networking environment you are presenting, first and foremost, yourself as a person that I might come to know, like and trust enough to do business with. I have come to believe that elevator speeches get in the way of that process. The anti-humanist nature of the elevator speech comes through as the speaker seems to turn into a ‘talking head’ advancing a specific business proposition. Upon its completion I know next to nothing about the person. I would rather hear a ‘vision’ that the person has for their life. But then I’m one of those who believe that people (particularly their insights, passion and dedication) are the most interesting parts of any business.

When you meet me, don’t tell me what you do – tell me who you are! When you meet people find out who they are before you find out what they do – if you don’t like who they are, what they do will be unimportant.

Dr. Earl R. Smith II (www.lngvw.com)