Here is the complete transcript of the podcast
Welcome, or welcome back to Success with Srini. Happy July 4 to you. Happy Monday morning to you on the podcast. Today I’m answering a question that has come in from a listener of this podcast asking me, How do I respond to this? “Srini, every time people ask me what I do? I do not know what to say. I keep saying multiple things to people. Even at home, I don’t know what to say. Recently, I went to a couple of interviews, and I was asked the question about what I do. And I told completely two different things. Is it normal or something is wrong with me? Okay, okay. Well, nothing wrong with you. So all is well, this is a common problem. It’s a common question I get. So let’s get into this. Hopefully, by the time you’re done with the podcast today, I have created the independence that you’re seeking from this problem.
This is an issue, you know, when people ask, what do you do, even to me, I have trouble explaining what I do in different contexts. I say, Well, I’m a call to a mentor, a speaker, I’m a trainer, Mr. Thurmond, different things I say, but then that’s not what I would like to say, I want to say only one thing. And I want to be done with it. So I want to be consistent with that message. And I struggled with it personally for a long time. And eventually, I arrived at my statement, which is I turn around people. So somebody asked me, what do you do? Well, I help people to turn around, or I help people. I don’t want people something like that. And the question, the follow-up question is, how do you do that? Or what is it? Then I explained, saying, Well, I do people have problems, people have issues, and I help them to overcome those issues using different tools and techniques. And as a result of that, I speak I train in all that. So I kind of expand on that. But my instant, a two and a half-second response, I turn around people. Now I did not arrive at that statement overnight. And it took me a lot of time. So I went through multiple different definitions of who I am I and I don’t think it’s complete, even today. So it’s going to evolve through change. And who knows how life is going to be from two years from now, five years from now, or maybe? Who knows, nobody knows what’s gonna happen tomorrow. But then this is the evolution this process is incremental. So there isn’t a point where I can say, This is who I am, this is what I do. We live in a world where we all play different roles.
Now we have different titles, we have different responsibilities, and it’s natural to have different identities. So your question is not hard. Your question is not difficult. Everybody goes through it, you are not alone in this. Now that being said, you also need to have what we call an elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is something that you tell people whom you meet randomly, on an elevator, let’s say you’re going up an elevator coming down an elevator, and you meet somebody in the elevator and they ask you what you do. And by the time the elevator hits the ground or hits the floor that you’re going up, by the time you leave the elevator or they leave the elevator, you need to tell them what you do. How do you say it? But what do you say? Now, how do you arrive at what you have to say? So let’s talk about those things, I’m going to share some ideas with you.
Hopefully, it is going to help. If it is, then by all means please do let me know with a review or a comment or a text message. The best way to really put this together is an incredible elevator pitch or something that you can explain in a minute or less, under 60 seconds, are you can come up with anything that you want to say and that’s what people do. That’s what probably are doing on the fly. But there is power if you become strategic about this. And you do some homework, and you come up with something that you would like to say that not only sounds good to the listener but also sounds good invert to you. That means whatever you’re saying is coming from the core of your heart and truly represents who you are, represents your values represent your beliefs and in a way also implies to the listener, that there are certain goals that you have that you want to accomplish as a result of expressing whatever you’re trying to express. So whatever you say, but has to somehow imply or there has to sound As if you’re also seeking some goals, for yourself in a professional setup also, and in my opinion, every setup is a professional setup. If you’re saying something outside, you’d rather be saying that inside also there’s nothing called if I meet somebody who is in my professional network, I’m going to tell them something in a certain way if I’m meeting somebody else outside, I’m going to tell them something in a different way, or the same thing in a different way. Doesn’t make any sense. You rather be consistent across the board. And I think that’s the question we’re asking anyway. So to do this, the first and foremost thing is you got to know who you are. You need to know your strengths, you need to know your weaknesses. I’ll tell you why. Because the things that you perceive as your strength, that’s not what people outside perceive, something that happened that went wrong with me personally, people perceive that I’m a speaker, I never perceived myself as a speaker. But every listener on the radio, through my radio shows, they were tuning in, because they were, they thought I’m a good speaker, but I never, you know if you listen to this podcast or any podcast here, there are numerous mistakes I make. I don’t get my words, right. I can’t put two lines together, I digress from the point. And I sometimes speak louder and sometimes over speak on my own thoughts, who I have issues, I don’t see it myself, but they see it that way. So a strength for me is a weakness for them a weakness for me the strength for them in their perception. So what I suggest you do is, let’s say, let’s take this question more in a job context because you said you went for a couple of interviews.
So I want you to go and meet some of your co-workers, people with whom you’ve worked in the past, and people who, with whom you might work also now today, let’s say let’s take your current situation. And I want you to ask them, how they perceive you. Ask them what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are, I want you to have a discussion with them about you, as if you’re interviewing them, about you, so kind of, you’re introspecting yourself to them. Now, I want you to also write down your strengths and weaknesses. So you know your strengths, strengths, and weaknesses, according to you. And then you go talk to these people, and ask them how they perceive you. So now we have two sets of data, one that is the way you see and a set of data, the way they see. Usually, there is a gap, there’s always a gap. And that is the gap, you want to fill with your introduction with your explanation of who you are in that elevator pitch, when you do that, then you don’t feel bad about yourself. Okay? Now, once you hear what they said, and once you have your stuff, your job is to sit down and keep writing multiple different paragraphs about who you are. And you’ll come up with multiple versions of who you are. Now, there are a few things you need to have in these statements, your statement has to have clarity, this is who I am, this is what I do. And this is how I have done and this is what I plan on doing something like that. So you have to have clarity across these areas. And you should also quantify achievements in that write-up as you’re writing these things, things that you have achieved. And when you write this, you have to write it by creating enough interest in the listener, the listener has to feel okay, whatever he is saying, or she is saying, Yeah, I want to hear more about you want to hear more about them something like that. So, the listener is in focus, you are not in focus. So when you’re writing this, make sure that whoever is going to listen how they how should they listen to this and whatever your strengths are, you need to accentuate that, in that. So kind of strength, you kind of position them in such a way that it kind of amplifies you, who you are. Now, you are right, this is the writing part, this is coming up with the content part.
The second part is to rehearse this, you got to rehearse it, you got to try this who knows which version you like. So, whatever you have said so far, two people go back in time, remind, you know, kind of recollect them and come up with all the different versions. And now you have in front of you three or four different paragraphs talking about you and that has these paragraphs of clarity. They have your achievements quantified, they are listener-focused, and they’re also amplifying your strengths. Now, as you start reading them, you will start identifying yourself with one or two, at the most Your job is to identify yourself with one or two, not all five, or not all time. And you will rehearse your practice. And you practice to a point where if somebody wakes you up at three o’clock in the morning and asks you, Hey, what do you do? And I help people do this. And for example, I help people overcome it and turn around their lives, whether it’s professional, financial, relational, or whatever that life is. And I do that using a bunch of tools and techniques. So if you wake me up in the morning and say, What’s your one-liner, I know my one-liner, I don’t want people in, what’s my one paragraph, I know, one paragraph. So you should be able to wake up at any point in time. Even if you are distracted, somebody got in the middle of something that you’re doing, and somebody tries to get your attention and ask you, Hey, what do you be able to say, unconscious, unconsciously how to say, and then just keep trying. There’s no other way I can add to this. So you’re doing, you’re rehearsing this, and you’re trying to sing that to people in interviews, whatever, and see what kind of response you’re getting. So in a way, you’re getting the feedback. And then, as you say things to people, make sure that you listen, and you kind of pick, whether they’re paying attention to what you’re saying. Or they are in a kind of read, as you’re saying this so that you know what kind of changes you can make to this. And then as you are doing this, obviously, you need to be confident about yourself. So anything that you say, if you’re not confident doesn’t come across anyway. And then if somebody asks you more, be prepared to give more. Like, usually I get that question. As I said, Here, you turn around people, how do you do that? explained to them, right? I give them more, more context.
So that’s it. That’s all there is to this. And again, I oversimplified this maybe on this podcast, but that’s, that’s how I would do it. And again, by the way, this whole thing, not only just becomes your pitch, but this also becomes your profile intro on your LinkedIn. Or this could be the intro paragraph on your resume. I mean, the different places where you can use this content. Okay, so that’s all for now. I hope this is helpful. If it is, as I said, do let me know. And you have a wonderful Independence Day. And I will catch up with you as early as tomorrow. Thank you