Your Elevator Speech
The elevator speech may be one of the most important, yet often overlooked tools we have when we enter into the chiropractic field. Whether you're graduating and starting a practice, starting into practice with an existing office, or beginning to look for job opportunities, the right elevator speech will give you the competitive edge you need to succeed. So what should YOUR elevator speech include?
Posted in Getting Hired on Sunday, November 6, 2016
The concept of an elevator speech is simple.
If you happen to be on an elevator with another person, and they ask you who you are and what you do, could you convey this message by the time you reached your floor.
Not only could you convey the message but also, would the message be powerful enough to make an impact on the listener? In business terms, could you sell your product by the time you got off the elevator?
An elevator speech is as important as your business card. The best speeches are quick, succinct and can properly describe you in 30 seconds or less.
As a student and now practicing chiropractor, I always have multiple elevator speeches for different audiences and I tweak them on a constant basis.
Taking time to explore an elevator speech will pay off in the long run. I choose to find quiet time to take inventory on the following factors, writing ideas as they come:
- Who is my audience?
- What problem am I solving?
- What do I hope to influence the listener to do as a next step?
- What are my biggest strengths?
I practice these speeches until I feel comfortable reciting them and I can convey the passion I intended. For instance, if a potential new patient asks you what you do, an unproductive and uninspiring response may be “I’m a chiropractor”.
Instead, consider the difference in the power of an elevator speech I have used time and time again:
“I am a chiropractor who focuses on rapidly helping my patients overcome the spine pain that dominates and dictates their lives. I achieve this by spending time with my patients to properly diagnose their conditions, closely monitoring their response to care to ensure positive outcomes and by educating them on what they can do on their own to ensure that the pain doesn’t return. So many patients are hindered with pain and it’s my mission to help play a role in improving their quality of life.”