This article was originally published in Turkish on HBR Türkiye, in Jun 2021. View Turkish version here.
Think of all the different ways we communicate in the workplace. Elevator chats, water cooler conversations, making connections at conferences, exchanging business cards, etc. But the way we communicate and interact with the people around us is changing, and we need to adapt and develop new methods to drive sales, develop interpersonal connections, and ensure team unity.
The 'elevator pitch’ was one of the most common methods of introducing oneself and one's brand until relatively recently. It was often seen as the first stage of sales, even being used as a vital training exercise. . A typical corporate training line may have been structured as follows:
Say you happen to step into the same elevator as the CEO of the company you want to work for and you have one minute to make a good impression. How would you evaluate such a brief amount of time? First impressions are important, and you want to make sure the way you introduce yourself piques their interest. If, in those 60 seconds, face to face, you fail to say anything other than a few cliché words, you've lost.
Training participants would rehearse during this single minute to identify the best phrasing and body language to useCan you think of a better way for an employee to fine-tune their sales pitch?
But if the elevator pitch is a thing of the past, what has it been replaced with? Since much of our lives have been relegated to virtual interactions due to the pandemic, our elevator pitches must also adapt to the times..
If you ask what methods have come to replace the elevator pitch, you’ll find that they tend to involve the use of technology and social media. Nowadays, we use our smartphones for everything from reading and watching videos to buying new products, and we are spending more time on social media than ever before. According to a global study, mobile phone users spent 4.2 hours more time per day with mobile technologies in 2020– a 20% increase compared to the previous year. And this doesn’t just apply to Gen-Z. generation Z. The time spent by Gen-X and Baby Boomers on mobile applications has increased by 30% as well. What can we conclude from this? The people we pitch to have left the elevator in favor of social media.
Good ideas are valuable assets. Brilliant ideas don’t happen every day, and when you are unable to effectively present these ideas, they lose their value. Those who use technology to socialize may have an advantage here, but successful connections and pitches are nothing without effective communication.
I think effective communication, which is thought by many to be a clichéd thing of the past, should still be at the center of our lives. In some ways, it’s important now more than everIn the fast-paced world we live in, we need to be able to say more in less time. Because of this, the best approach is to use clear and concise sentences, phrase things as specifically as possible, and articulate exactly what we want from the listenerMoreover, a single mistake or faux pas on social media can go viral and reach millions within seconds.. This is exactly why we need to go back to square one and remember the importance of effective communication.
The coexistence of technology and human beings is crucial to the advancement of the business world. No matter how much technology advances, human characteristics continue to maintain their importance. While the platforms may change, the 'elevator' lives on through platforms such as Linkedin, Twitter, and beyond, and it’s up to us to adapt to the changing times. After all, we cannot achieve results when we cannot explain our own product– that is to say, ourselves.