How to Keep from Sounding Like a Canned Commercial

The author at a podium

I edit in my sleep.

I think about word choices and sentence structure.

Sometimes I'll stop in my tracks and have to read aloud a well-crafted sentence, be it in a movie review, a TikTok caption, or a book. 

I silently judge the articles I read.

Sometimes not so silently.

And this carries over into listening to elevator pitches.

I attend a lot of networking events, and a common exercise is to go around the circle to introduce yourself.

Why oh why don't people take better advantage of this amazing opportunity?

Your pitch should change with every new chance to speak.

It should reflect anything from the day's events, pop culture, how you are feeling, something the person before you said...anything to make it current.

It should NOT be a tried and practiced canned spiel you have given countless times that never changes.

Think about the many times you have listened to people. Isn't it the ones who speak off the cuff that capture your attention?

Hang up those practiced sentences!

I watched celebrities speak recently on an awards shows, and was shocked by how many people read their speeches. Boring! Dry! Only when they were finishing up and abandoned their printed paper did they look at the camera and finally become interesting.

I get the whole stage fright thing, so when I win my Tony or Oscar or Emmy, don't call me out on it. But I'm pretty sure most of our next chances to give our elevator pitch will be on a smaller stage.

Give it a try: ditch what you know and speak from the heart. Let me know how you do.