I think I’ll probably write some more about this in the future, but generally speaking I think 30 second elevator pitches are useless. I think it’s time we start looking beyond the elevator anyway. Besides, nobody talks in elevators… they’re almost as quiet as a men’s restroom.

 

Stories are so much more powerful. Think about the movies for example. Hollywood can throw hundreds of millions of dollars at a movie and it can still fail. Most of the time this happens because there’s not a good story behind the movie, and no amount of special effects and well known actors can overcome this core problem. Great stories are the same reason that Pixar hasn’t had a miss yet. Every one of their movies starts with a really great story.

 

So what’s your story? A good story is powerful, can help you get your point across much more clearly, and help you build credibility… and if you craft it right it won’t take much more than 30 seconds, although a couple of minutes is perfectly acceptable.

 

There are two kinds of stories that should serve you well when you’re out networking. A good business story should help someone understand more clearly what it is you do. The easiest of these is a customer success story. How did you help one of your customers? Who are they? What was their challenge? What were the results that you helped them produce?

 

The second type of story is a personal story. I’ll never stop saying it: “Networking is about relationships.” Telling a personal story is a great way to connect with someone you’re starting to build a relationship with. This can be about anything. The idea is to give your fellow networker a better glimpse of who YOU really are.

 

I have quite a few short stories about myself that I’ll often tell people when I’m getting to know them: How and why I started NetworkInAustin.com. Why Emily and I moved to Austin/Why we left California. How my wife was literally referred to me.

 

What’s your story? Think about how you might be able to better describe what you do, what makes you different, and who you are by telling stories. Besides, who doesn’t love a good story?

 

Happy networking!

 

Scott Ingram