Based on material from the recently released second edition of Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music (Oxford University Press, November 2010).
Imagine this: you walk through an office building lobby and step into an elevator. You look over and find you are standing next to a well respected musician or arts administrator, someone you recognize but have never had the chance to meet. Now is your chance. As you watch the elevator floor numbers tick by, you need to figure out what to say!
Instead of panicking and saying nothing, or saying something you later regret, it’s best to have a concise way to introduce yourself handy, something you have thought about and practiced. This mini-intro that conveys what you do and what you are interested in is known as an elevator speech.
An elevator speech is not something formal or memorized. Instead, it should be a set of phrases and content you can use flexibly and comfortably to introduce yourself to others. If you have an elevator speech at the ready, it makes it much easier to meet people. It should be short: about 30 seconds and no more than four sentences. It should be conversational and personal, not a sales pitch. Remember, networking is a two-way street. And it should give your conversation partner something to talk with you about—it should have conversation “openings.”
Elevator speeches are also handy even when meeting strangers on an airplane, at concert receptions, or out in the community. You never know who might have an interesting connection or opportunity to offer you, but you may be the one to have an interesting connection to offer the other person. Networking comes down to being a good neighbor, being interested in others, building community, and contributing something positive to the world.
To break it down, here is what you need to include in your elevator speech:
1. Your name and what you do (voice type, area of focus).
2. A credential to establish your most relevant background. This might be a recent performance credit, an ensemble with which you perform, the recent degree you received, or your teaching or arts administration position.
3. Next, briefly state your current project or topic area you are exploring. The person you meet must have a reason to connect with you. You want them to be able to give you an idea or a contact, so you create a conversational “volley” to which your partner can respond. You, in turn, need to be finding out from your companion what she or he is interested in and what points of interest you may share.
While all this is going on, you need to be watching and listening for cues—tune in to the other person for their responses. If the conversation is going well and your companion seems interested, you can carry on with:
4. A specific request, such as to contact this person in the future to set up a meeting.
Here’s an example of an elevator speech I’ve used: “Hi, I’m Angela Beeching; I run the Career Services Center at New England Conservatory of Music [1 and 2 above]. I just wanted to introduce myself because I heard your performance last month at the X club and I’m a big admirer of your work!”
[The other person responds favorably, so I go on with:]
“I write on musicians’ career issues and am working on an article about music entrepreneurs for the ABC publication. I’d love to do a short phone interview with you about your XYZ project. Do you think I could e-mail you and set up a time to talk? [3 and 4].”
Here’s an example of a singer interested in doing community education projects. In this scenario, she’s found herself at a post-concert reception standing next to the program director of Young Audiences, an organization that hires musicians to present education performances in K-2 schools. Notice that our singer here does not ask for an audition or a job. Instead, she asks about an appointment to gain advice. This is very much the recommended approach. The audition and job may come later but she wants to first explore.
“Hi. I’m Jane Smith, a soprano, and I teach voice at the Brookline Music School. I wanted to introduce myself to you, Ms. Borg. I recognize you from the Young Audiences website—I’m so glad for this chance to meet you! I have a vocal quartet and we’ve created and performed educational programs for after-school teen programs in West Roxbury and we love this kind of work. We’re interested in learning how to improve our programs. Do you think I could arrange to meet with you in the coming weeks to hear your thoughts and advice?”
Or, consider the case of baritone John Doe. He’s put together a recital program of Russian art song based on traditional folk tunes. He’s looking for concert bookings and is interested in connecting with organizations focused on Russian history and culture. He attends a public lecture on Russian foreign policy at a local college and finds himself in a long line to meet the speaker. He starts a conversation with the person standing in front of him.
“Hi, I’m John Doe—what did you think of the talk?” (Don’t be shy about initiating a conversation, but do ask open-ended questions, ones that don’t simply require a yes or no answer.)
[They shake hands, exchange names and pleasantries.]
John asks, “And what is your interest in Russian culture?”
[John finds out this person teaches Russian language and history at a nearby university. And this leads John to respond with—]
“Oh, this is so great meeting you! I’m a classical singer and I’ve performed other programs at the X concert hall and the Y community center. I’ve been exploring repertoire for a new program of art song based on traditional Russian folk music.”
[If his conversation partner seems somewhat interested, John continues with—]
“Do you think you might have time to meet briefly with me? Perhaps I could take you out to lunch in the coming weeks—I’d love to find out more about your work and brainstorm with you about where in the community such a recital program might be a good fit.”
Again, notice that John is not asking for too much too soon here—what he wants is time with this person who’s connected in the Russian community and probably has some good leads. But he’s not asking for the advice or contact names in this first chance meeting—that would be presumptuous. Instead, John expresses interest in scheduling a meeting; this is more considerate and appropriate. It’s about cultivating a relationship. And non-musicians can be very important contacts, too.
In sum, working on your elevator speech is a useful exercise. It can prompt you to examine and tune up your interpersonal and conversational skills in general. It can help you focus on networking as a relationship-building process. To put the elevator speech into everyday context, in networking conversations, when you’re asked, “So what are you up to these days?” you should be ready to concisely describe either a project you’re working on or an upcoming performance, and do so in a concise and engaging way. Remember, you have two ears and one mouth, and in networking, you want to use them in that proportion. So, listen up. It will make you a better conversationalist!
