Elevator Pitch: "And What Do You Do?"

 

This week's task was to develop a personal brand statement, to use as part of one's "Elevator pitch." So, how did I go about this?

First, I Googled "personal brand statement," since this concept wasn't covered in this week's course materials. Jörgen Sundberg of the UndercoverRecruiter indicates that a personal brand statement consists of "1-2 sentences answering what you are the best at (value), who you serve (audience) and how you do it uniquely." She indicates that it should be "memorable, punchy and solution oriented."

• VALUE

• AUDIENCE

• UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION

True to form, I started with a functional and specific statement that addressed an audience, a measure of value, and a unique contribution. Once composed, however, I quickly determined that my statement, though functional and specific to my current employment, lacked any punch and left a "snore" impression. (I credit this to spending too much time spent in academia.) Draft 1 read like this:

 Florene keeps distance education students on track by anticipating their needs and ensuring clarity and functionality in their course materials.

YAWN.

Upon second reading, I also recognized that while this statement was accurate, it limited my skills to an unnecessarily specific purpose and population, so I strove to broaden the potential interest group and to strive for less "academic" language. Meanwhile, as a rural Albertan (who likes it that way), I also wanted to integrate my preferred surroundings and my geographical client base into my statement. So, I referred to my current Twitter description, which incorporates geography and philosophy with my skill set as follows:

Florene is a professional communicator living a simple life in rural Alberta.

While this broadens my interest group and reflects who I am, it doesn't suggest unique value, nor does it target the needs of a rural audience. What's more, it doesn't have an action orientation.

It needs more punch.

My third run represents a statement that can dip in many directions, while using plain language to indicate that I'm a communicator that writes to meet the needs of rural Albertans (primarily). This statement can change and grow, but it's a good start, I think.

So, if I meet you on an elevator, and you ask me what I do, I might tell you something like this (and hope you ask for details):

Florene draws the attention of audiences in rural Alberta and beyond through clear, engaging written communication that anticipates the readers' needs and tells them what they need to know.

 Much better. :)