As a professional, you know how important it is to perfect your elevator pitch. Without it, you can find yourself fumbling over your words while consequently losing the interest your potential customer or client. You may think that your current elevator pitch is up to par, but when is the last time you actually gave your speech?

An elevator pitch is a short summary of your service or company and how it adds value to customers and the world. It’s a useful tool for communicating important information in a time-constrained setting that will hopefully yield you an invitation to have a longer conversation at a later point in time.

There are two problems that professionals run into when evaluating their elevator pitches: The pitch is out of date, or it was created on paper but never adjusted to work in actual conversation.

Keeping your elevator speech updated is just as important as updating your resume. Maybe you have new responsibilities in your job role, or your company has recently rebranded their mission statement. Both situations would require you to evaluate your elevator pitch and make the necessary adjustments.

When a pitch sounds robotic and unnatural, people end up feeling pitched at instead of engaged with. As much as our society is driven by a consumer mindset, no one actually wants to be sold to. If you are too busy making sure you sell the benefits of your work, you are neglecting the main reason that people may do business with you: a personal relationship.

In order to make your pitch sound natural, it needs to be written in the way that you speak. Using common vernacular makes your pitch sound believable, and asking questions promotes a more spontaneous flow to the conversation. The best way to ensure that your speech sounds natural is by practicing it with people who will give you honest feedback. Rehearse it until it sounds unrehearsed, then get feedback on how authentic you sound.

Most times, an elevator pitch needs to be revamped simply because it hasn’t been used in a while. Without practice, your elevator pitch can sound robotic, and a robotic speech can hurt your chances of making positive first impressions. Update your elevator speech and practice with your peers. It could mean the difference between upward movement and a stagnant career.