 Hello and welcome to How to Craft an Elevator Pitch. An elevator pitch could be a conversation at the water cooler, common during the intermission of a game, or a conversation that you have with colleagues who stroll across a parking lot. An elevator speech can happen anywhere. Here's where we're going. What are the basic parts of an elevator speech? How can I create an effective elevator presentation? An elevator speech is a presentation that persuades the listener in less than 30 seconds, or around 100 words. In creating an elevator speech, the idea is not to present a canned 30 second ad, but rather to give a relaxed, nutshell summary of one main idea. This can be formal or informal. It's not a full sales pitch and should not have too much information. Here this is one of the most important axioms in all of presentational speaking. When you tailor your message to an audience, you zero in on your target and increase your effectiveness. Always consider the audience. Adaptation is critical. Key questions. What is the topic, product or service? Who are you? Who is the target market? What is the revenue model? What or who is the competition and what are your advantages over that competition? Louis Pasteur famously said, chance favors only the prepared mind. Your elevator pitch begins with your attention getter. It's the hook, the thing that captures your audience's attention and information about yourself. Why you are credible. In your introduction, you answer the question, what do you offer? In the body of your elevator pitch, you're including the benefits for the listener. Why should they care about what you have to say? In your conclusion, you're wrapping up the gift of the elevator pitch and you're giving to them like a present. You're giving them an example that summarizes exactly what you offer and what you're presenting. Last but certainly not least, you're offering a residual message, a call for action. You want to close the sale. Thomas Jefferson argued the most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. So to review, you now know the basic parts of an elevator speech and how to create an effective elevator speech.