You hear about Elevator Speeches (ES) a lot in the world of networking. But where did they come from? Find out here.

I originally though that it came from the question:

You get in a lift (elevator) with your ideal prospect and you've got just a few floors to impress them and make them want to talk to you more. What would you say?

Great question. Makes you think!

However, it seems that Elevator Speeches actually came to us from the entertainment business, and more specifically, the Hollywood movie business. The original idea was that when somebody gets into a lift or elevator with you, you've got a handful of floors and a few seconds to pitch your blockbuster idea before they get out.

The story goes that if you were a script writer or producer, you would ‘hound' movie makers to get your movie made. Alas, the movie makers were important people, and naturally made themselves more ‘unreachable' and exclusive.

Your meetings to pitch were either cut drastically short, or not granted at all. That meant you had to get more clever and opportunistic. You had to deliver a short pitch that might spark enough curiosity to get you a meeting. This would often occur in hotel lobbies, elevators and on streets.

When you've got to sing for your supper like this, you have to really nail what you're doing!

If they don't see ‘box office hit', you're dead in the water! Folklore says that one innovative producer pitched a winner with these five words: ‘Die Hard on a Bus'. Can you guess what movie it was? It was ‘Speed'! Those five words don't say who, why or when. The speech doesn't give any more than required AT THAT STAGE.

What it does have is a blockbuster connotation - as ‘Die Hard' made a fair amount at the box office! The thing to note here is that certain information is deliberately held back. It makes people ask more if you do it right. If people then show an interest, there is the basis for a conversation.

So think about how you hook and engage people with the right kind of valued, interesting information so that they want to continue your conversation. That's what makes a great ES!

Want to attend Rob's forthcoming Elevator Speech Masterclass in Nottingham on May 10 3-6pm?

"Three hours of brilliant training and insight on positioning your business, crafting great networking introductions and creating your word of mouth messages!"

Rob Brown Business Building Masterclasses>>