Boston Brussels Chicago Düsseldorf Houston London Los Angeles Miami Milan Munich New York Orange County Paris Rome Silicon Valley Washington, D.C. Strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices (Shanghai) © 2011 McDermott Will & Emery. The following legal entities are collectively referred to as McDermott Will & Emery, McDermott" or the Firm: McDermott Will & Emery LLP, McDermott Will & Emery AARPI, McDermott Will & Emery Belgium LLP, McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP, MWE Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH, McDermott Will & Emery Studio Legale Associato and McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP. These entities coordinate their activities through service agreements. McDermott has a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices, a separate law firm. This communication may be considered attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. How To Draft and Deliver an Effective Elevator Speech Sarah Chapin Columbia Heather Egan Sussman McDermott Will & Emery LLP In conjunction with the Association of Corporate Counsel Northeast Womens Initiative December 8, 2011

What is an elevator speech? Short speech that describes and sells you or your idea, or that promotes your business Usually 30 seconds or less

Main goals of an elevator speech 1.Convey what I want the listener to know; 2.Tailor it so the listener cares; and 3.End with a segue that invites more conversation, or that makes a personal connection

What do I want them to know? What is it you are trying to let others know about you? What are your key strengths? Drafting exercise List three of your key strengths List five adjectives to describe you

Why should they care? Consider the context (e.g., are you at a PTO meeting, or a job fair?) How could you help the listener? How could the listener help you? Drafting exercise List your primary speech goal List one secondary speech goal

Drafting Exercise: Outline your talk Start with bullet points Keep in mind the prior two drafting exercises and now answer these questions: – Who am I? – What do I offer? – What problem is solved? – What are the main contributions I can make? – What should the listener do as a result of hearing this?

Drafting Exercise: Finalize your talk Take each bullet point and now turn it into a sentence Connect the sentences with points or phrases to make them flow in a conversation style Once connected, simplify and streamline your sentences, cutting out all unnecessary information and words Finalize: make it no more than 90 words And if you have writers block: I do (nature of service) for (ideal client) so that they can (benefit to the client).

End with a segue Where do you want this to go next? Some potential options: – If you want to learn more about them (What do you do? What brings you here?) – If you want to know if they have a need for you (Do you ever work with [insert a problem that you can solve]) – If its time to wrap up and move on (It was great meeting you, do you have a card?)

Questions?