What's your elevator pitch?

This is strategic. When we meet people, we are making introductions all the time. I am not a fan of canned responses—yes, I find the mechanization of our social life unsavory. But there are social actions we repeat often enough that they're worth pre-meditating.

This is especially true at networking events. I used to scoff at the idea of meeting people simply for materialistic gain. In some ways, I still do. But I am opening my mind to the idea that another framing may be more appropriate—that people are searching for right-fit partners and collaborators for what they're trying to achieve in the world. I may place high value on interpersonal connection, but that does not mean that connection via utility is outright bad. Relationships are varied—it’s valid to seek relationships through a purely business vector rather than business via a personal vector.

At these networking shindigs, you get asked the same question over and over again in slight variations: who are you, what do you do, what are you up to, what keeps you busy, etc., etc. You can rely on the moment, sure—just say what comes to mind, spend brain cycles recalling what you're doing, think about what you should say to this particular person, and use energy to craft your introduction. I say that's wasteful.

Don't get too offended. I am wasteful in this manner too. Guilty beyond measure. But it's come to my attention that being more deliberate in my introductions and communications with people could be useful on many fronts. So how about we explore this together?

Instead of creating an introduction every time, let's come up with one. Let's start super simple. I'll go first:

"Hi! My name is Sasha—I’m a musician, engineer, and entrepreneur. I am passionate about connecting people through music and tech."

Decent first draft, right? A bit basic, but a 60% job is better than a 0%!

Ok, so how do we improve on this? Mine stated who I am in very general terms. It also missed a key ingredient: what am I seeking? Let's try again:

"Hi! I'm Sasha—I am a songwriter and producer; I write and play original fusion music using sitar, guitar, and influences from studying music around the world. I am always looking for other serious musicians to collaborate with."

More specific and with a statement of what I'm seeking. It’s not perfect, but it’s better. Improvement by iteration.

Here's what we consider next. We can have a few variations in the pocket—a tagline, a short bio, a medium bio, and a long bio. No, we won’t write them all out now. But the idea here is that we can have these variations for different occasions, both oral and written. Oral would likely employ a tagline or short bio. The others are for speaking engagements, online introductions, or promotional material.

Another important vector to consider: we can have different pitches for different occasions or audiences. Who are we talking to, what do we want them to know, and more importantly: how can we be of value to them? If I am at a tech event seeking collaboration as an engineer, I may want to lean more on my experience there—because that’s where I can be more valuable to people in that environment. I’ll probably have more connection opportunities advertising myself as an engineer first and a musician only as a complement to that.

Priority is key here. We are so multifaceted as people, and there is so much to say. It can be hard to distill everything down to a one-line pitch. "But I have so much to share and offer!" you might say. I feel your pain. But remember: less is more here. Prioritization is pruning, and cutting out some awesome parts of yourself so other parts can shine can sting. But imagine trying to smash in all your accolades into a pitch. Not so bueno—you’ll have a dilution problem. Share what’s worth paying attention to in that moment. There are plenty of other moments where you can share more.

Here's my invitation: next time you're going to a networky thing, ask yourself: what's my one- or two-sentence elevator pitch? How can I be of value to the people I’ll meet? What’s my desire, and who’s my audience?

You may find yourself connecting in a whole new way.