Here, a few simple pointers:

Remember the WIIFM Factor. What’s in it for me? is what listeners want to know. If you can’t catch their attention in a hurry, they’ll tune out. How many of us have heard someone say, “Hi, I’m Todd and I am a plumber. I fix stopped drains. I can help anyone with indoor plumbing. Call me if you have questions.” ZZZZZ! There are plenty of plumbers (bankers, Realtors, etc.); why should I give you a second glance?

You only have 30 seconds (or 60, 15, or whatever). Practice a few speeches to be sure you can include your key selling points – quickly. Sometimes you’re told to only say your name, company name, and tagline. If you don’t have a captivating tagline, you’ve just sold yourself short.

Remember your audience. I have two distinct business channels: entrepreneurs and job seekers. If I go to a networking event with fellow business owners, it would be foolhardy to just talk about résumés. Sure, people in the room may know someone who’s looking for a job, but my better approach is to lead with strategic communications and then drop the résumé thing at the end. Be sure that your presentation is targeted to the people who are listening.

Stay focused. Too many people hear that they’re given two minutes and start telling stories and things that are completely irrelevant. If you have something of value to contribute, go for it! However, in my experience, most people “um” and “ah” their way through 30 seconds talking about nothing, so hone that first before moving on to a bigger sharing time.