In Networking 1, the First Five Minutes, I mentioned Elevator Statements (EVs) and how they are critical to successful networking.

So what’s an Elevator Statement?

Here’s what they aren’t.

EV’s aren’t speeches or pitches.

I have an absolute aversion to the word pitch. Whenever a person pitches to me I know they want something, usually to sell me something.

It’s usually not about my needs, it’s about my money.

EV’s don’t produce instant careers, or instant anything.  They might induce you to by a raffle ticket for a charity, but that’s about all.

However an EV can produce an opportunity to develop or renovate your career or produce some business opportunities.

The only purpose of an EV is to start a conversation and gain permission to continue that conversation.

During that conversation you can build initial credibility, become liked, which can lead to trust and further down the track a relationship, a personal one like a date, or friendship or a business relationship.

If you are smart, you’ll first discover a lot about the person you are chatting with.

You can achieve this by just asking non-intrusive questions and then really listening to their answers.

During that conversation you will be able to discover what they do for a living, whether they a single, and even if they work for themselves, a corporation, have their own business or whether they are in-between jobs.

You’ll also discover whether that person is a genuine prospect, who might want the solution you have to enhance their organisation or themselves.

If they’re not a genuine prospect just enjoy their company or politely move on.

If you’re still asking them questions and listening, in no time they’ll generally ask you “What you do?”.

This is the opportunity for you to use an Elevator Statement, which must be a truthful statement not one you make up to scam them to get their business.

After your EV, they might show a little more interest and ask you, “How do you do  that?”

If they are really interested they will ask you more questions and for your business or personal card. You might then ask if they would like more information.

You can point them to your website or find out if they would like a further chat. If so, ask for their business card or ask permission to ring their assistant for a suitable time for an appointment to discuss the person’s needs and possible solutions .

Being able to place your hand on their office door handle is a fantastic outcome of your elevator statement and your networking skills.

Networking can be learnt and Elevator Statements can be crafted easily and quickly.

Everything is easier when you know how.

First, EV’s are a very short statement of what you do that meets the needs of the person you are talking with, which will engage that person.

Usually your statement should be an average of 35 to 45 words long.

The average person speaks at about three words a second, which gives you a maximum of 15 seconds to deliver your EV.

The aim of the statement is to elicit a question from the other person – “How do you do that?”.

This gives you permission to engage the person a little more.

You might remember the aged care CEO, Winston, at the dinner party, who award my company a significant contract to manage a crisis at his organisation.

A few weeks before the dinner party, at sunny afternoon Sunday barbeque, we first met.  We spent some time talking about our football teams, Melbourne FC and Carlton FC.

We ‘chin-wagged’ (Aussie slang for an enthusiastic conversation) for about an hour about the virtues and skills of various players, and of course the coaches.

Eventually, our conversation turned to what we did.

With a question, Winston revealed that he was the CEO of the oldest aged care facility in Australia.

Then it was my turn. “What do you do?”

“My company, Taking Control Communications, helps organisations manage issues and crises,