4 Tips to Crafting Your OT Elevator Speech
First thing’s first,
HAPPY OT MONTH!
I can’t believe it’s already April 2021 which means it’s officially time to celebrate the occupational therapy profession all. month. long. There’s a ton of exciting things planned over in the OT-stagram community. Last week, Sarah from OT 4 Lyfe challenged us to kick off OT month by sharing our elevator speeches. I absolutely love this challenge and I’m excited to hear from everyone.
It also got me thinking about the very first semester of OT school when this was our actual assignment. I remember being so nervous thinking how in the world am I supposed to sum up OT in a few seconds? If you’re at the beginning of your OT journey, you might feel the same way so here are four tips to help you as you create your own OT elevator speech:
Define occupation: One of the reasons OT is such a widely misunderstood profession is because of the word “occupation” in our name which is most commonly associated with a job. While OTs certainly have a role in this area, it is not all we do. We need to be sure our listener has a general understanding of what occupation is.
Start broad: OT is a broad profession and there are so many different settings, populations, etc. to work with - and it’s cool! Highlight where we work, the ages we see, and what our overall goal is.
Flow into your specific niche or area of interest: This is the area where your passion while naturally shine through and get the listener excited about the profession
Connect it all back to what matters most: Do I need to say more? This is a time to really highlight the why behind what we do.
Alright so we’ve got our formula, let’s see it in action.
(Define Occupation) Occupations are anything we do that occupies our time - this might be working, but it can also be getting dressed, eating, feeding the dog, playing, exercising, etc. (Start Broad) Occupational therapists work with people across the lifespan from babies to older adults in a variety of places such as hospitals, homes, and schools to help them participate in meaningful occupations after an injury, diagnosis or condition (Flow into your niche or area of interest) For example, I work in pediatrics with kiddo’s ages 0-3 who are delayed in an area of child development. I support the family and child to meet milestones and participate in everyday routines. (Connect it all back to what matters most) At the end of the day, OTs simply help our patients and clients get back to engaging in everyday meaningful activities.
And wa-la! There you have it. A semi-perfectly crafted elevator speech that leaves the listener with a general understanding, appreciation, and even curiosity about what we do. Remember it takes skills and experience to truly craft your own unique elevator speech but the more you practice, the easier it’ll come!
Alright now it’s your turn…what’s your elevator speech? Let me know in the comments OR post it to your IG account and don’t forget to tag the creator of the challenge, Sarah from ot.4.lyfe and me (marvelousmirracles.ot) so I can see it too :) And I’m wishing everyone a happy, happy OT month!