In the past week, I attended three large networking events, collecting a fistful of business cards and listening to lots of elevator speeches.
The elevator speech is that 60-second talk about your business, suitable for telling to someone you meet in an elevator before he or she can escape—I mean, before they reach their floor.

At the Women Ties conference, we did some speed networking—moving from table to table and repeating our E-Speech over and over.  After the tenth repetition, even I was tongue tied, and one very professional woman lost her thread completely and sputtered into silence.

E-Speeches are not easy.

My favorite how-to article on this topic appears on Quintessential Careers site.  One great suggestion:  develop different speeches for different situations.  I’d suggest having at least a short one and a long one.  You can also tailor them to particular client groups, or to each service that you offer.

One again, notice the need to practice practice practice!   It’s the only way you’re going to sound relaxed and casual—and avoid tongue-tied sputtering.