Discussion Post: Elevator Speech- Representing Yourself Professionally to Potential Employers
A professional elevator speech is a concise message that can be presented to potential employers describing your professional qualifications, philosophy, experience, and so forth. It is essentially a personal commercial lasting about the time it takes to complete an elevator ride (approximately 30 seconds), which is how it got its name. You will encounter times throughout your career in which having an elevator speech to present becomes essential, including interviews, presentations, meetings, school functions, professional development conferences, and more.
Initial Post: Post an initial response that addresses the following areas using the discussion board forum:
A. After reviewing the required readings this week about creating your own elevator speech, take some time to consider how you want to professionally present yourself. Draft your 30-second elevator speech to include:
a. Your introduction.
b. Your professional accomplishments.
c. Your professional experience.
d. Your strengths.
e. Your professional goals/philosophy.
f. Your "why" or professional career motivation (why you do what you do).
B. Within the discussion on the discussion board, forum, record or post a link to your 30-second audio elevator speech containing all six components of your draft. Be creative and incorporate multimedia into your initial post. Employ a web tool, such as or presentation tools such as PowerPoint, YouTube.
Textbook: Henley, M., Ramsey, R. S., & Algozzine, R. F. (2009). Characteristics of and strategies for teaching students with mild disabilities (6th ed.). Pearson.
The response must include a reference list. Using one-inch margins, double-space, Times New Roman 12 pnt font and APA style of writing and citations.