Just what is an elevator speech? It may be in an elevator but is more likely to be at a social event, at the grocery store, or at your child's ball game. It is the response time you have when someone is giving you their attention and asks you, "What do you do?" They may or may not really want to know but you have the opportunity to pitch yourself or whatever it is you want them to know about you. Why about yourself? We know that people choose to do business with people they like, not to go with the opportunity alone.

There are differing opinions on just what to say. Whatever you say needs to sound natural, roll off your tongue without sounding like a tongue twister, be informative and leave the person wanting to know more. Look the person in the eyes. Be confident but not cocky. Smile. Say something memorable and sincere. Open the window of your personality. Take advantage of the face to face opportunity because that is one of your most effective methods of promoting your business. Avoid a straight out sales pitch but make them want to learn more.

Why is it called an elevator speech? Even in a tall building, the time you have to converse with someone else on the elevator is short. The name derives from the short time frame, usually about 30 seconds, not the location. It is that brief moment in time that you have someone's full attention and they are listening to you. Since you want to continue the conversation past the 30 seconds, consider asking a question at the end.

This is harder to do than you think. Many experts think preparedness is the key, write down what you want to say. Eliminate business jargon, acronyms and unnecessary words. Don't bore or confuse your audience. When you have the short speech you want to use, look yourself in the mirror and practice. Work at it until you have something that feels natural and you will remember to use when given the opportunity. Experts disagree on whether you should memorize your speech. Even if you are a natural at talking to people, rehearsing and having a really great elevator speech is advisable if you want this to be a business opportunity. Take the time to do some research. Look for examples of what other successful people say and at what the experts advise.

Fortune Hi Tech Marketing is a really great network marketing company which offers people the chance to own a business without a large investment. In the FHTM world these people are referred to as Fortune Representatives by the founder, Paul Orberson as he opens his weekly calls. The FHTM business is multi faceted giving you many avenues to use in your elevator speech. If you ask ten of the top earners of FHTM 'What do you do' you will get a different answer from each one. Each elevator speech is unique to that individual but gets you interested in talking to them more.

Just to find out what FHTM reps are saying, I am using an informal contest for market research. My website, TeamBuildingSupport, has a page devoted to those elevator speeches. You can tell by reading them (posted at the end of the contest) that there are many approaches that can be taken. Not only should FHTM reps take all the training offered, learn all they can about the business they should also look at these 30 second elevator speeches as you develop your own. As a FHTM rep what will you say the next time someone asks you, "What do you do?"