How you present yourself to others is vitally important in power networking. A major part of this is your ‘story.’ This is the story you tell about yourself when you meet new people and it contains everything you need them to know about you. What you’re doing is condensing the usual ‘get to know you’ conversation so that it’s quick and easy for other people to understand in a short time.

Who Are You? – Identifying Your Role

Start by deciding how you want to appear to others. When people first meet you, who do you want them to see you as? This is the basis of your story. Examples would be a young online entrepreneur with a passion for marketing; a friendly mom on the fast track to better fitness; a passionate crusader for the environment, and so on.

A good way to decide this is to refer to the stated goal of your networking. What is your passion and what is the end result you want to get out of building your network?

The Elevator Speech

Your short story is a kind of elevator speech. An elevator speech is an introduction that lasts about 30 seconds, or as long as it takes to ride an elevator to your floor. This is a mini-version of your story. It tells a new person your knowledge, skills, accomplishments, and personal value in a very brief time. You provide just enough information to get the person interested in learning more about you.

You’ll probably have much longer than 30 seconds to communicate your story to others. If not, you should probably find other networking opportunities that aren’t so rushed! But condensing your story into 30 seconds helps you to identify the parts that are most important. If you have only half a minute to introduce yourself, what would you say?

Keep in mind that an elevator story isn’t all you need. This is just the introduction. You’ll need a fuller, more detailed version of your story to tell people as you get deeper into conversation. You also need questions to ask to get to know the other person.

The Elements of a Good Story

Elevator speeches are often used by marketers or salespeople who want to make a quick sale, or by job seekers who are trying to appeal to recruiters. For the purposes of networking, your elevator speech or story should communicate your passion and the value that you have to offer others. It also shouldn’t be negative or potentially alienating to those you meet.

You should model your own story after the traditional elevator speech, but there’s one major difference. Your story should be authentic and personal. You’re not a salesperson trying to make a quick sale. You’re trying to establish a deep personal relationship and long-term connection. Your story should be honest and show who you truly are.

Ideally, your story should lead to a back and forth conversation. It should end with you passing the other person your business card and an opportunity to follow up with them.

Different Stories for Different Situations

After drafting your initial story, create several variations for different situations. You may create alternate versions for different types of people you meet or different goals that you have in your networking. As you network, you’ll also learn how to improvise somewhat and alter your story to match the situation.