SPRING 2023 25 VIRGINIA CHAPTER Association of Consulting Foresters It’s Important to Tell Our Story: CRAFTING AN “ELEVATOR PITCH” FOR FORESTRY Being in a conversation with someone who believes the forestry industry is doing more harm than good can make you feel cornered. If we can communicate that a forest management plan takes into consideration the landowners’ goals while helping them be good stewards of the land and environment, then they will be more likely to see us and our profession as something sustainable and valuable. We should use these conversations to highlight our sustainable practices and be ready to reference research if necessary. With this, how will your 90-second elevator pitch tell your story as a representative of the forestry industry? How will it tell our story as caretakers of the land? How can we use our pitch to tell our clients, friends, neighbors and the public about the importance of what we do? Consider jotting down some key points you’d like to make during your elevator pitch. Your key points might generate more in-depth conversations about forestry practices and our industry. If we are going to advocate, we should do it with the intention to highlight the good in our story. —The Executive Committee of the Virginia Chapter ACF How can someone who works alone, with no employees, write anything meaningful about workforce development issues? In fact, many consulting foresters enjoy the solitude and freedom of this sector of the timber industry. All we have to worry about is finding enough work to keep busy. Simple enough. Do you have a 90-second “elevator pitch” to communicate what it is you do for a living? Is that pitch different when you speak to someone within the forestry community than it is when you speak to a new client or the general public? How can we use this short amount of time to convey that what we do as foresters and landowners is beneficial to the regenerative cycle of a long-term, sustainable system? First, we need to make sure we use words and express ideas that are easy to understand. Everything we do is complex, from the comprehensive plans we write for clients to the equipment we use in the field. That complexity would be lost on someone not familiar with our industry. What we say also needs to be direct and not overly detailed. Someone overwhelmed with forestry jargon and technical terms is less likely to actively listen to what you are saying.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTY1NDIzOQ==