For those of you who may not know, an "elevator speech" is a short presentation about your project or passion that can be made in the time it would take an elevator to get from the top floor to the first floor of a building. Elevator speeches are generally not more than two or three sentences long. The theory is that an elevator speech should help you pare down your presentation to the core and most important elements and then allow you to articulate those elements in a few sentences.

I'm not, in general, a huge fan of marketing jargon or a huge believer in the idea that having an elevator speech (or whatever the latest marketing buzzword is) will help you in all situations. I do, however, think the concept is useful when applied to the things about which you feel passionate. You won't always have the luxury of unlimited time to explain your business and why people should work with you. Having an elevator speech prepared can help you get your main points across quickly, and may be enough to encourage someone to learn more.

Opportunities to educate people about your business can come up at any time. Your opportunity may come in the checkout line at the grocery, in the waiting room at the doctor's office or at a PTA meeting at your child's school. When the time comes, you want to be prepared. It isn't necessary that your speech be perfectly polished; all that matters is that you can tell someone why they should bring their business to your business without stumbling over your words or fumbling for a thought.

Basically, an elevator speech is meant to hook someone's interest and encourage them to want to learn more. Having an effective, short explanation about why you are passionate about your business and what you can do for your customers could be the key to adding a new name to your client list.

As I've been writing this post, I've been thinking about what I would say in my elevator speech about the company for which I work, EnMart. Here's my first attempt:

EnMart sells embroidery and sublimation supplies, but that's not the whole story. We use what we sell, and have done so for a number of years. This means we're not only offering top-quality embroidery and sublimation supplies, we're also providing you with a partner who knows the best way to use those supplies.

I'm not sure that version is exactly what I want to say, but it is a start. One thing it does do is leave a lot of room for follow-up questions, which would hopefully generate a longer discussion. The trick is to hook the person to whom you are speaking, to catch their interest and to inspire them to want to know more.

So, now that you've seen my first attempt at an elevator speech, I'd like to see yours. If you are so inclined, leave your speeches in the comments section. It will be interesting to see what everyone writes.