Project Management in many companies is part politicking, part salesmanship and the rest is actual PM work. This means it’s crucial to be ready at anytime to advocate for your project or the changes necessary.
Although much of the discussion around a project will be in formal presentations, don’t forget to develop a quick, clear and concise elevator speech. An elevator speech is short description of your project and benefits that is clear and can be given in under 5 minutes. Elevator speeches typically share common characteristics.
1. A clear description of the benefits of the project. We’re talking BENEFITS not features! How good something is has no bearing on if there are benefits.
2. Give your audience what they want! Give the audience something they’re interested in hearing. Management is always looking for additional capital to invest or capture so have estimated capital savings figures ready. A worker may be interested in how a change will help them, so be ready with the goods for this group also.
3. Frame the pitch as a win-win for everyone. Stay away form anything with even a hint of negativism. The worst thing is for someone to take any negativity, tie it to your project, then work to kill it off because of a lack of information. Rarely will someone with authority move to correct their impression of a project so make certain they leave with a positive understanding.
The elevator pitch is crucial for project mangers to succeed with making the changes so necessary in many large organizations. Perfecting the elevator pitch can have an important impact on the success of a new project initiative.