Ah, the dreaded question. “So what do you do?” With networking at an all-time high, we get asked this question at lunches, networking events, by potential clients and sometimes even at the grocery store. In the past, I hesitated and ultimately over complicated things. “Well, I do this and that. I also do this which really means that and is very important.” Bah.
Over the years I’ve learned to keep it simple. I try to keep the WHAT simple and back it up with the WHY, which to me is much more important to me. Don’t bog your audience down with the details. Use stories to give meaning to what you do.
There is a great post by Stacy Jones @ Philanthropy Journal – Developing an elevator speech – that is a good guide for creating and practicing your own speech. I especially like her suggestion to create a call to action at the end of your speech – I use this a lot when I have an upcoming event to promote.
I personally dislike the “What do you do?” question and tend to use “What do you like to do?” It’s much less formal and awkward and you ultimately find out what the person does for a living anyway. I don’t think we should be labeled by our jobs. Instead, we should discuss why we do what we do and how we can help each other be successful and meet our personal and professional goals.
