People decide in 30-60 seconds whether they will pay the slightest bit of attention to you. If you slay that dragon, and they decide to tune in, you get ~3 minutes (their attention span) to possibly earn an additional smidgen of their interest.
This is a “formula” for the 30-60 seconds. I will not do it justice. Its creator is communication expert, Sam Horn (http://www.intrigueagency.com/). She is extraordinary and I strongly recommend that you to try to hear her talk or buy her materials. In any case, I willshare my paraphrase of her ingenious and flexible formula for describing anything to anyone.
The power of the formula is that it engages the listener, tells your differentiation in that context, and gives the listener reasons to believe you. You are still You, just more Interesting. I think you’ll like You this way.
The Specifics and An Example
I will use the example of a startup company that I am mentoring, named salaUno. It is a Mexican eye clinic. Not excited by that description? Read on.
As Sam notes: This formula works whether you are answering the question, “What do you do?” at a cocktail party, or pitching your company at the biggest funding opportunity of your life.
What to Remember if You Don’t Remember the Formula
The formula works because it conforms to the human nature of the listener rather than the knowledge and ego of the speaker:
- Our self-absorption halts briefly in response to new, surprising information.
- Injecting an inspirational vision engages a different and valuable part of the brain. Factual small ideas may inform but they won’t attract or motivate.
- The impact of a thing is always more interesting than the thing itself.
- Dude, it’s not that you aren’t credible, but, well, bring external validation.
Input Welcome
- Have you tried this with success? Send an example
- Do you have suggested additions or modifications to this approach?
Tagged: business, effective communication, passion, sales
AffectiveAction 
Thanks, Taia. This actually made me re-think the way I pitch myself: offering a vision or talking about the impact of my work, rather than the work itself, makes so much sense.