In my (www.gothamnetworking.com) networking world we ask: Who you are, what you do and how can we help you?

It's amazing how fruitful those answers can be, because we believe that "It's better to give than receive, but what goes around comes around."

The object of the exercise is multi faceted. 

A basic objective is, in the words of my salesman father, "to get on their level", ie, find common ground from which a relationship can spring.  

Also, helping the person is a bonding experience which is mutually beneficial.  

In the end the responses amount to an "Elevator Speech", but one last tip, don't go on boringly long because the elevator should only reach the mezzanine :)