There are certain jargon terms that are just not my jam...

Low-hanging fruit 🤢 🤮 (why does this make me feel sick?)

Disrupting 🙄 (when was disrupted train service a good thing?)

All-in 🚩 (much like referring to your company as a family, it's time to run away!)

"Competitive salary" (TO WHAT?!????)

But I really don't like the "elevator pitch." 

It's outdated. How many of us are riding elevators in office buildings these days? According to The American Opportunity Survey from spring 2022, 58% of Americans can work from home at least one day a week and 35% have can work from home five days a week.

It's not how humans (should) communicate. When I imagine an elevator pitch happening IRL, I picture two white dudes à la Mad Men meeting in an elevator with a firm handshake, a quick "Fred, VP, Accounting," topped with a flippant sexist joke. No thank you.

We're complex beings who require more than 30 seconds to explain who we are. Supposedly, the most common opening introductory question changes depending on location. For example, in New York, it's often "What part of the city do you live in?" and in London, people ask "What do you do?" while in San Francisco, people ask, "Are you in tech?" or "Do you go to Burning Man?" Whatever the opening question, conflating who are you? with  any of these questions is limiting at best.

So how can we authentically introduce our complex selves in an increasingly remote world?

As much as I dislike the concept of the elevator pitch, finding a way to distill your career history and who you are into a summary is definitely an art.  

It's also especially hard for those who identify as generalists but TRUST ME, you've got serious skills and qualities that others see in you even if they feel hard to name for yourself.

Here's how to start:

1. Ask 10 people who know you from different contexts to share how they describe you. 

✅ Include dear friends, mentors, former colleagues/bosses, and 1-2 people you've only met briefly. 

✅ Set up a way for them to share thoughts anonymously which may give people greater freedom to really gush - I recommend a simple Google Form so you can easily track and come back to what people share. Keep it simple with 2-3 questions maximum, like "How would you introduce me to a stranger?" "What do you see as my greatest strengths?" "Where do you see me going in my career?"

✅ Send a short email to each individual in your list of 10 (1:1 not a group message) sharing that you'd love their help shaping how you introduce yourself professionally. In exchange, you might offer to do the same for them or share an introduction that would support them professionally.

GREAT! Now you have amazing language to pull from in shaping your introductions!!

2. Consider context and draft your intros

✅ Pulling from the language you received, draft introductions that align with different contexts where you introduce yourself. Depending on context, your introduction will vary in formality, length, and how much of your personality you include. For example...

• The dreaded "so tell me about yourself" ask in job interviews
• Networking with peers
• Updating people you already know
• Written form for job applications, emails, or your website...

3. Test out your introductions - none of this matters if you don't actually practice.

✅ Practice practice practice before using these out in the world. Say the introductions out loud, especially if they feel bold for you! 

✅ Set a goal to use each context you've drafted an introduction for over the next 2 weeks. 

✅ Each time you introduce yourself with this new language, reflect on how it felt to do it - adjust as needed until it feels really effing good to introduce yourself.

As a bonus, set yourself up for successful conversations by having a few questions you love to ask and to be asked!

Be ready to share your responses to those questions, but make sure they're organic and authentic, in other words, know generally what you'd like to talk about in response but not the word-for-word answer you'd give. 

How do you most want to connect with people? Complete this practice and email me your introductions (hello[at]juliafirestonecoaching.com) for a chance to win a complimentary coaching session!