Praciticing Elevator Pitches: 1st Video Critique

00:01 It's time to practice your elevator speech, but you've got to do it in a specific way.

00:05 Simply reading your notes over and over and over again 1000 times doesn't help. Don't do that.

00:12 Speaking out your elevator pitch is better than just reading it, but it doesn't help much.

00:18 Speaking it out in front of a mirror doesn't really do much either.

00:23 There's only one way in this modern era of practicing an elevator pitch effectively, and that is to say it out loud, recorded on video, and you have no excuse. Just pull out your cell phone, capture it on the video, in your cell phone or a tablet or a web.

00:40 It doesn't matter. You're surrounded by video cameras.

00:43 Every computer, laptop, tablet, cell phone, for the most part, has a video function you need to record yourself.

00:51 I don't care about the quality of the video.

00:52 Don't waste time trying to get the perfect camera.

00:55 It doesn't matter.

00:56 You just have to be able to see yourself and hear yourself.

01:00 So I want you to give your elevator pitch.

01:03 Don't worry exactly about the time.

01:05 Let's make it 30 to 45 seconds.

01:09 Record yourself.

01:10 Preferably you can have one person that you're talking to and that person could hold the camera, your cell phone, whatever it is.

01:17 But if nothing else, talk to a chair and hold your own cell phone and capture your video.

01:24 So I want you to practice now.

01:27 Record it, watch it, and then critique yourself.

01:32 Now, I want you to be a critic of yourself.

01:35 I want you to be a harsh critic, but I want you to be a fair critic.

01:39 A fair critic points out not just the bad, but also the good.

01:43 So give yourself an honest assessment and this is hard to do.

01:47 You may need to ask your friend to help you with this, especially to point out the good things. So once you're done, rate yourself.

01:56 What are you doing? Well, is your eye contact good? Give yourself good marks.

02:02 Is your speed of your voice good or are you rushing? That would be bad.

02:08 Is your energy and volume good or are you whispering and sound like you're scared? There's good and there's bad.

02:14 I want you to have a detailed list of both.

02:17 If all you're doing is pointing out what you don't like, that's not the homework assignment. That is not helping you.

02:23 I know you think it's helping. It's not helping.

02:25 You've got to come up with a list of things you're doing.

02:28 Well, if it's interesting, give yourself good marks.

02:32 If you're not saying lots of ums and uhs, note that you're articulate and have no verbal tics, but also write down exactly what you don't like. If you find it boring, guess what it probably is.

02:47 If you seem uncertain of yourself, it's probably going to come across that way to the person you're pitching to.

02:53 So get up, speak, record it on video and grade yourself thoroughly now.