April Challenge: revamp your elevator speech

Wasn't this an assignment we all had back in the days of OT school? "Tell me your definition of OT." Know why it was an assignment? Because you have to do it all the time. And it's very rare that someone wants the half hour discussion on all the things that OTs can do, have ever done, or will do in the future.



Sometimes the elevator speech needs to be changed. I had a great elevator speech for working in the hospital, but switching practice areas meant that other things had to change too. Sometimes you can find yourself becoming bored with your normal vocal patter ("now that the sock is on the device, we're going to go fishing for your foot" brings back the shudder of the Too Many Sock Aids Days).

AOTA has provided us with a great free tool- the Brand. It's easy to start any conversation with "I help people live life to the fullest." It is memorable and catchy- people will want to know more. That is where you can provide some examples about your particular practice area, or a tidbit that will be interesting to your listener.

My old, hospital based elevator speech went something like this: "I help people on all the floors live life to the fullest. OTs work with infants having difficulty feeding, children recovering from burn accidents, middle aged adults after joint replacement or other surgery, and the elderly following strokes, heart attacks, or chronic hospitalization. My goal is for people to be as safe and independent as possible, preferably in their own homes."

There's no way to encompass all the scope of wonder that OT is in a 2-minute drill, but the key is to provide a memorable statement that applies to your audience and hints at the scope of practice.

Please feel free to share your OT definition or elevator speech in the comments below!