How To Be Your Own M Word Advocate: The Elevator Speech
If you’re like me, you get really frustrated when people don’t know the difference between migraine & headache. Let’s set them straight & raise awareness of migraine.
What do you do when someone asks you what a migraine is? Or when you have to explain your triggers to a co-worker or employer? Do you bumble through an explanation & give too much/not the right info? Here’s your solution: an elevator speech.
In a nutshell, an elevator speech should give a solution to a problem, give information, or give an answer.
Start with something simple like “I have chronic migraines. Migraines are actually different from headaches because….” Give an overview and note any symptoms personal to you or general to the population depending on the audience & your comfort level.
Here’s an example of another blogger’s 30-second migraine elevator speech:
Migraine is a neurological disease that affects more than 30 million Americans. Despite the number of people it affects, Migraine is often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, & greatly lacks funding for research. Migraines vary in intensity, duration, & frequency; & are more than just a headache: the accompanying symptoms, such as sensitivities to light and sound, nausea, visual changes, can be just as, or more, disabling than the headache pain.
Have you written your elevator speech?
