The other day I read this article 'The Art of the Elevator Pitch,' and it really inspired me to improve as a communicator, whether writing or speaking. It was simple, concise, and informative... just how I would like to be.
The title likely caught my eye because we used to talk about the importance of the elevator pitch when I was taking leadership coaching classes. I was happy for the reminder and reinforcement of its value.
This particular article is mostly about how to get investors to listen to your idea, but it could be applied to just about anything. My mind actually drifted toward preaching - or at least public speaking - even though I don't really do it. I suppose this would work for everyday conversation as well. As the author says regarding your pitch,
"If you can answer in one compelling sentence, you can hook your audience... the human brain craves meaning before details. When a listener doesn’t understand the overarching idea being presented in a pitch, they have a hard time digesting the information. A logline will help you paint the big picture for your audience."The three steps they recommend for a good logline are:
- Keep it short
- Identify one thing you want your audience to remember
- Make sure your team is on the same page
The former pastor of our current church still preaches occasionally. He likes to start out with what he calls a "sermon sentence." He tells us what he's talking about in one sentence because, as he says, in case he gets off track he wants us to at least know what he intended to talk about. :)
I think this is important whether writing or speaking. It seems a lot of people say a lot of stuff, and so much of it seems unnecessary or people don't pay attention to it. It is definitely something I need to work on, and hopefully will. Because talking without communicating is pretty useless.
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