Whether you are meeting with friends, at a networking event, or at a family gathering, you are bound to come across the question: “What do you do?”

Download this pitch template to help craft an effective and clear response:

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Follow these guidelines when thinking about your pitch:

What’s the verb?

Do you manage, create, organize, synthesize, connect, produce – just like the best thank you notes don’t begin with “thank you” don’t start you response with “I work at…” Boring!

Describe your noun.

Chances are, you work for or with a group of people – or for an extraordinary cause. The next part of your response should revolve around this “who” or the “what.” For example: “I work with a team that analyzes the costs and benefits of different social media strategies for different organizations.”

Color with adjectives!

Fill in your verb and your noun with colorful words, which enhance the image you are trying to present of yourself. Strong, bold, open-minded, influential, adventurous. All adequate and effective adjectives, but each should be used in a different context.

Highlight your strengths.

Your end-goal should involve highlighting the things you do best, both in the workplace, and as an individual. This will require a combination of the parts of speech emphasized above, and self-awareness to put your best skills forward and communicate them.