Have you ever gotten a blank stare when attempting to explain what you do for a living to family, friends or during networking events? If so and you have yet to tighten up your professional pitch, you may risk doing more harm than good — particularly when dealing with people outside your industry field. 

Thankfully Paratus Communications’ Adam Vincenzini lays out a few thoughtful ways to effectively describe your job’s roles and responsibilities, without getting caught out there on an awkward limb.

From Ragan’s PR Daily:

The example he used was how he explained his job to his father, a transportation planner. 

“My focus is the consumer (commuter). They have a bunch of different touch points (transport options) that all build to the same goal, getting them information they want and/or need (getting them from place to place). 

“I might consult on the layout of each individual digital touch point (transport option), but I’m not the guy who builds them. I don’t know how to code a website (build a car) well enough to do it meaningfully. 

“I’m responsible for knowing what all the pieces are supposed to do, knowing how people use them, and figuring out how to link them together in a way that helps people do what they want to do, and migrate between touch points. 

“Abandoning the metaphor, this includes social strategy, content strategy, CRM, site, mobile, LBM, applications, in-store, experiential, etc. Again, I’m not a master at executing all of these things—I’m just aware of what they all do, how they all work, and the role they play in creating an integrated experience. 

“So, digital strategy is transportation planning. This is my answer next time I have the ‘what does that mean?’ conversation.”