One of the most common questions we soulpreneurs and creatives get is “What do you do?” It doesn’t matter if you’re at a live or virtual event, a party, or even just at the grocery store, there is a chance that someone will want to know what you do. You need to be able to explain what you do clearly within 60 seconds or so for anyone asking to still be interested in what you do after asking.

Some people call this answer an “elevator speech” but that always sounds so canned to me. I much prefer a more relaxed approach because anything that has the word “speech” in it makes me break out in hives!

Nevertheless, there are a few questions you should have answers to for when the topic of what you do comes up in conversation.

Here are 6 ways to answer the common questions around “what do you do”…

Question #1 – Who are you?

This is maybe the easiest once to answer because it’s so straightforward. Just give them your name and maybe a random fact related to your audience and business.

Question #2 – What do you do?

When you answer this, you can add more of what you do, framing it to fit the context of the conversation. For example, if you are a graphic designer that could mean a lot of things to a lot of people. You could create websites, develop logos, create videos, or make coloring pages and planners. Since all of those options can fall under a generic ‘graphic designer’ label, you need to be specific about what you do.

Question #3 – Who do you serve?

Knowing who your ideal customer is also helps you explain more clearly what you do. If you’re clear on who you serve, you’re going to be more clear on what you do to serve them and this comes across in your conversations.

Question #4 – Why do you do it?

If it comes up, you’ll also want to be clear on why you do what you do. You don’t have to share your life story here, just a sentence or two about why doing what you do is important to you.

Question #5 – What’s your USP?

This isn’t going to come up in exactly those words, but you do need to be clear on what your unique selling proposition (USP) is or any explanation of what you do is going to come across as wishy-washy and confused.

Question #6 – How do I contact you?

You’ll always want to have a way to contact you handy. Business cards are great for in person conversations. One of the best pieces of advice I got when I was first starting out was to have a freebie offer right on your card. QR codes make that a lot easier now than it was back then.  Give them your card with a QR code leading to a landing page just for people you meet in person to take you up on an introductory offer.

Final Thoughts

All of these questions come together to answer the “what do you do” question when you’re having conversations with people you meet. If you’re clear on all of this – and you should be – you won’t sound like  you’re giving a prepared speech, but are confident in who you are, what you do, and how you serve your ideal audience.

So now it’s your turn. Answer me this (in the comments below): What do you do?