(As published in the National Scenic Byway Foundation e-newsletter.)
As an ambassador for our Byway, the most common and often used technique is my elevator speech. It takes about ten seconds to say, “The Mohawk Towpath Byway is a driving route between Waterford and Cohoes and Schenectady here in New York that follows the historic route of the Erie Canal and the waterway west.”
It is an attention grabber. The first few lines of our website, an introduction to an indoor lecture, outdoor wayside tour, or the first lines on a bus tour. It is much better than saying, “Test. Test. Is this mic on?”
What the visitor to your byway is going to remember is this personal contact and this first impression. Make it a good one. Smile, be sincere, enthuse with body language that adds to the feeling of authenticity. Be ready for the follow-up question like, “Is it a bike path?” Or “What’s the story here?” Or “Where’s the nearest public restroom?” Or “Do you have a map?”
Tour host and historian John Scherer narrates a story on the Mohawk Towpath Byway. Note his leaning into the audience, gesture, and enthusiasm that all add to the authenticity of the story. [ Note that John is also holding the book he authored, Images of America: Clifton Park. Tell me that doesn’t add to the authenticity!]
What is your byway elevator speech? Can you say it in your sleep?
For help with your elevator speech visit Storytelling in Person, a factsheet in our NSBF Resource Library.
Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway 