Talking About Yourself – Part III
This week I bring you the third installment of the five-part series “Five things to think of when you’re trying to talk persuasively about your business.”
This series is an adaptation of an article written by D. Bnonn Tennant. It can be found on his blog: informationhighwayman.com
In week one, I asked you to think about who you’re talking about. Week two, I asked you to thinking about what you’re talking about. For week three, we’re going to ask you, “Who is doing the talking?”
Many first-time networkers, and sales people, rely solely on their elevator speech when they are meeting and talking with prospective clients and business partners. They feel as if they must sound “professional” and “impressive”—and they think this means using the same style as most corporate advertising, speaking like an Oxford professor writing a dissertation. They use words like “leverage” or “utilise” instead of “use.” But how appealing do you find that language? Oh, you think it sounds pompous and stupid? You’re right, it does.
The strongest statements have a single, clear personality: your’s. Potential business partners and clients respond positively when you speak to them naturally about how you and your products are going to fulfill their needs.
Related Articles
- How Not To Embarrass Yourself Doing The Elevator Pitch (webguild.org)
- Eight Simple Secrets Towards Speaking Well (socyberty.com)
- How persuasive is your website’s copy? A simple, five-step checklist | Design Shack (designshack.co.uk)
