Tips for Talking About Your Business

Talking about your business can be challenging, especially if you’re not a natural public speaker. You know you only have a limited amount of time to get the person you’re talking to interested in your company. But how do you condense down everything you do into a short, effective soundbite? 

Here are some tips to help you learn how to talk about your product or service in a way that intrigues your audience and makes them want to learn more. 

Don’t Talk About Yourself

When introducing your business, it’s tempting to talk about your career and educational background. After all, your professional experiences are what shaped you and led you to start your company. However, it’s usually best to keep the focus on your product or service and the problem it solves. 

This is something I struggled with for a while, as I often wanted to tell people how my experience with chronic illness drove me to start my writing business. But talking about yourself too much can take people’s attention off your solutions, which is where the focus needs to be. 

Although you want potential customers to get to know and trust you, they can learn more about you by looking at your LinkedIn page or website. Right now you’re trying to show them what you can do for them to make their lives easier so they follow up with you. 

Don’t Use Jargon

Using language that’s too technical or industry specific can alienate your audience. Many people won’t know what the jargon means. You should aim to simplify your message so everyone can understand it and learn how they’ll benefit from your product or service. 

Keep It Short and Sweet

Going on about what you do for several minutes will cause you to lose your audience’s attention. Even worse, you may confuse or overwhelm them by giving them too much information about your business all at once. 

If you’re at a networking event, the person you’re speaking to has been listening to elevator pitches all night long. They don’t have the attention span to focus on a long speech, so keep things short and sweet. 

Get straight to the point of how your product or service benefits consumers. If people want to know more about your solutions, they’ll ask you follow up questions or research your company further after the event. 

Tell a Story

A great way to engage your audience and touch on their pain points is to tell a story. Describe a common scenario when someone might need your company’s help. Then illustrate how your product or service will solve their problem to pique their interest. 

If you started your business to solve a problem you were having, you could also briefly talk about your company’s origin story. 

Add Personality

At a networking event, people listen to dozens of pitches. That’s why it’s important to make yours stand out by injecting some of your personality into it. If you’re funny, try to incorporate some humor into your pitch to make it more memorable. 

But if that’s not your style, work on delivering your message with confidence and ease. The more relaxed and open you are, the more potential customers will respond to you and your company. 

Talking about your business can be difficult, especially when you need to make a short elevator pitch. But as long as you hone your message ahead of time and practice your delivery, you’ll be able to connect with potential customers and gain new leads. 

What are your tips for talking about your business at networking events? Let us know in the comments section below. 

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