In casual conversation and particularly in business situations people will often ask what you do for work, You want to be quick and concise. This is traditionally called your elevator pitch. You are in an elevator with someone and they ask you what you do for work. You have about 30 seconds until the elevator reaches the next floor, and you had better be done by then.
This happens to me often, and I have been working on getting my pitch down. How do you explain Voiceover in 30 seconds? It's harder than being able to say I'm an accountant or I work in marketing. Not everyone understands what Voiceover really is. It's important you get this right though because these are sales opportunities. As an entrepreneur, you need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
I think it's important to stay away from industry jargon that most people won't understand. Instead of saying you record for eLearning, say you record for instructional materials or online training videos. Instead of Corporate Narration, say sales presentation videos or internal company videos. Anything that is more specific and relatable than the generic Corporate Narration. Instead of saying you record Voiceover, you can say I record the voice you might hear on... A little more long winded but more relatable.
So start working on your Voiceover elevator pitch. You can write it out first or, as I prefer, just improv it, and refine as you go. You don't want it to sound written or rehearsed. Just like a Voiceover you have to sound authentic. Then practice it on friends and family, preferably people who don't really understand what you do. Get feedback from them and refine again. Pay attention to what happens with a real stranger as well and keep honing it. Eventually you will have something that is tight and hopefully effective. Last, practice reaching casually for your wallet as you are giving the pitch so you can present a business card right as you finish. Even in this digital world there power in an old school business card, especially when you are in an elevator and you only have 30 seconds.
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