What do you say when someone asks you what you do?
What do you say when you want to stand out of a crowd?
The first words out of your mouth in these situations (after your name, of course) are usually a pitch.
We all have to pitch every day, and, too often, when we’re called upon to do it, we freeze, mumble, and miss the chance to enter into dialogue. And dialogue creates opportunity.
Let me give you an example.
Recently I was at a conference and one of the speakers asked everyone in the room to turn to his neighbor and talk with him or her for two minutes about things that we were proud of. After being speechless for a few moments, my neighbor, Peter, and I found some cool things to share, and I had a new best friend for the rest of the day.
I wonder what would have happened if I’d been prepared; if I had a list of things in my head that I was proud of. (By the way, not a bad list to make, anyway.)
So here’s my TIP, a new pitch:
“Hi, I’m Jonathan Talbott and I’m really happy I’m able to….”
Hi Jonathan,
great tip! So easy and effortless, I wonder why we sometimes make basic communication skills so difficult for ourselves. I’ll bookmark this blog, many lessons to be learned…
Thanks for the nice feedback, Ronald!