Hoping to Rise? Master the Elevator Talk

"It needs to be distinctive and memorable and such a good fit that the CEO and every other employee can remember it easily when introducing their company," she said.

Her own sound bite: "Software engineer trying to cure cancer." She picked it to be both bold and a good conversation starter.

The nonprofit group 40Plus has helped job seekers for decades, highlighting communication as a key factor in getting and keeping jobs as well as in advancement. Dave Heffernan, marketing director for the Washington-area chapter, said a good elevator speech takes preparation and shouldn't be a memorized script. He suggests adapting pitches to each situation, revealing experience and qualifications without being overly detailed. "Ideally, the listener should want to know more, should ask questions," he said.

When possible, Heffernan said, include measurable successes. If you work for a political consulting firm, rather than saying, "I'm a vice president at XYZ Consultants," you might offer, "By getting politicians' messages out to voters I've helped elect five senators in the last 10 years." The latter is more likely to generate an interesting conversation, which is what good communication is all about.

Julie Freeman, president of the International Association of Business Communicators, offered some more tips for getting your message across:

· Identify your audience and focus on them when thinking about your message.

· Determine the audience's knowledge, attitudes and interest in the subject and develop your message accordingly.

· Make listening an integral part of your communication.

· Be brief. Verbose, lengthy documents are a thing of the past.