About six years ago when I was in FBLA, a PBL member visited our group at nationals and talked about what it was like to be in Phi Beta Lambda. I had not heard about PBL before, but afterwards I was curious to learn more. So when a friend invited me to an ASU PBL meeting, I went.

Now, as the spring semester is beginning, PBL chapters will begin another round recruiting. A lot of chapters will lure people in with free pizza or guest speakers, and those are great ways to turn the heads of a lot of people. But, the best way to guarantee someone gives you their attention and time is by simply chatting with them about why they might like PBL, and inviting them to a meeting.

After all, you’re not in PBL because of free food (well… not only because of free food); we’re here because of friends, competition, trips to nationals, networking, or any number of reasons. So when recruiting this Spring, you’ll want to be able to quickly and effectively get people interested enough to take the time to come to a few meetings: enough to get hooked.

In business, this quick pitch is known as an elevator speech. The idea is if you happen to be in the same elevator as a potential client/employer/whomever, you should be able to make an informative and persuasive pitch. When that CEO gets off the elevator, they should be convinced that you and your product are AWESOME.

In reality, we do this everyday when we convince friends to try a new restaurant, participate in class discussions, or beg parents for money. A good elevator speech isn’t something so polished it sounds robotic; instead, think of them as persuasive conversations. You’ll want to sound natural, informed and genuine.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting different tips and techniques for making your elevator speeches persuasive and easy. I hope members of Az PBL will be able to use these tips recruiting  new members in the spring, or impressing your next boss.