[Youth-outreach] How to Be Prepared when a Membership Development Opportunity Happens

[John Bailey]

You have just been given the opportunity to introduce your organization to a potential member.  How comfortable are you talking about your chapter?  Can you give a concise description of your organization?  Will you find yourself hemming and hawing when trying to find the words to describe your group?

 

Unfortunately, very few people are capable of giving a short, concise description of their organization.  Also, there is very little consistency between what each of your members would say when they are asked to describe your organization.  This is a problem!

 

Part of any organization's membership development plan should include coming up with a concise and short description.  To maintain consistency, this description should be taught to each member.  An "elevator speech" is a concise description that can be given in about 30 seconds or less, about the time it takes to go from one floor to another in an elevator. (I assume that the person who came up with the description lived in a big city with very tall buildings or very slow elevators.)

 

So, as the youth development leader in your organization, come up with a short, concise description of what benefits your organization offers and be sure to teach it to the rest of your membership.  This will help everyone when one of your members has to give an elevator speech about your organization to a potential new member.