Imagine you are at a cocktail party or other event where you know no one and it is almost certain that no one there has any idea what a safety professional does. So, when someone asks the dreaded, "What do you do?", what is your answer? Unless you want to immediately bore the other person, keep your answer focused on what you can do for them. (Remember WIIFM, or What's In It For Me?) Most people have a pretty short attention span. Make sure your answer is fairly short and sweet. You also do want to launch into a version of your life story. The other person doesn't care how you got into safety or why you are a consultant. Also - do not use the word "am." If you say "I am" something, including a safety consultant, other people will who already work with one or more safety consultants will quickly write you off because in their minds, they do not need what you offer. Instead, when describing what you do, use power verbs such as save,teach, manage, develop, etc. Instead of an "I am a safety consultant" statement, try using a statement with a power verb such as "I save worker's lives" or "I help safety directors sleep at night." Get the idea? With both of these phrases, you are likely to get follow up questions which can lead you into a meaningful conversation. The idea is to start to build a relatonship. The longer you have a conversation with the other person (and don't forget to ask a lot of questions about what they do), the better start you will have to the relationship.
