<p>An <strong>Elevator Pitch </strong>is called so because back in the good old days(2019, that is) people working in office buildings used to ride the elevator together, and only had a few moments to answer the question <em>‘What do you do?’</em></p><p><br></p><p>A short, crisp and catchy <strong>Elevator Pitch</strong> is effective in today’s time when attention spans are tiny and there is tons of information bombarding us every moment.</p>

The Elevator Pitch

<p><strong>A good elevator pitch that makes people listen and stay engaged starts with something totally unexpected and ends with a teaser/question.</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Pattern Interrupt:</strong> The listener has to be taken by surprise by the initial words, something they haven’t heard before.</p><p><strong>Pause</strong>: A short pause is then required to give them time to process what we have just said and actually listen with interest.</p><p><strong>Teaser</strong>: A slight elaboration on what is said initially to give it more context.</p><p><strong>Question</strong>: Provide an open-ended question that gets them thinking and wanting to keep the conversation going.</p>

Four Steps To Effective Elevator Pitching

<ol><li>Ensure you can <strong>deliver </strong>what you claim to do in the pitch.</li><li><strong>Practice </strong>it so much that it becomes automatic and still does not sound rehearsed.</li><li><strong>Test </strong>it on people and fine-tune it with the results or feedback you get.</li><li>Don’t call it an elevator pitch.</li><li>Create different <strong>versions </strong>suited for live talks, emails or taglines.</li></ol><p><strong><em>Remember: Start with a hook, end with a question.</em></strong></p>

How To Deliver An Elevator Pitch

<h2>The point is to surprise the listener a bit with a “pattern interrupt.”
</h2><figure><picture><source media="(max-width: 40em)"><img width="705" height="396" alt="This is one of the best ways to answer ‘What do you do?’" srcset="https://images.fastcompany.net/image/upload/w_562, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/ar_16:9, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/c_fill, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/g_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/f_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/q_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/fl_lossy/wp-cms/uploads/2021/08/p-1-this-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-answer-what-do-you-do.jpg 562w, https://images.fastcompany.net/image/upload/w_937, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/ar_16:9, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/c_fill, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/g_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/f_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/q_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/fl_lossy/wp-cms/uploads/2021/08/p-1-this-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-answer-what-do-you-do.jpg 937w, https://images.fastcompany.net/image/upload/w_1153, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/ar_16:9, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/c_fill, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/g_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/f_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/q_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665445/fl_lossy/wp-cms/uploads/2021/08/p-1-this-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-answer-what-do-you-do.jpg 1153w"></picture></figure><div class="caption">[Source image: oatawa/iStock]
</div><div>advertisement</div><div>advertisement</div><div>advertisement</div><div>advertisement</div><p>The elevator pitch might seem like an outdated idea—something an intern in a ’90s comedy had to come up with for a big presentation. But with increasingly short attention spans, the immediacy of social media, and the vast quantity of information bombarding people on an hourly basis, the concept of a short, attention-getting pitch is still valid.</p><div>advertisement</div><div>advertisement</div><p>And that’s really the key to an effective elevator pitch: short and catchy.</p><h2>What is an elevator pitch?</h2><p>Meant for a quick answer to a question like “What do you do?” or “What does your company do?” the elevator pitch is a short description of your shtick, about one to three sentences long.</p><p>It’s called an elevator pitch because, back in the day, when people wore suits and rode elevators together without fearing for their lives, they’d have an elevator ride’s worth of time to give their pitch.</p><div>advertisement</div><h2>How to write an elevator pitch</h2><p>Your elevator pitch should begin with something unexpected (so people keep listening) and end with a question (so people engage).</p><p>I’m a business navigation consultant—I help entrepreneurs overcome their fear of failure to get to where they want to be. But that’s not my elevator pitch. This is:</p><BLOCKQUOTE><p>I help people and organizations turn fiction into autobiography [pause for a second]. Most of us are living an unfinished story and would like to end up in an amazing place. What’s that place for you, and do you know how to get there?</p></BLOCKQUOTE><p>The point is to surprise the listener a bit with a “pattern interrupt.”</p><div>advertisement</div><p>They’re expecting to hear “I’m an attorney” or “I own XYZ Company” or “we sell coffee,” but instead, they’re caught a little off guard, they begin to pay attention, and they think, “wait…what?” The pause in the middle gives them time to process and change gears, starting to actually listen with interest.</p><p dir="ltr">Then I provide a little more context, so they realize I’m not talking about writing an actual book. And finally, I hit them with a question that requires a response other than just “yes” or “no.” This isn’t a mindless question, nor is it particularly easy to answer. Rather, it begins a conversation about&nbsp;<i dir="ltr">them</i>. Asking a probing question builds rapport—it shows that you’re not just trying to sell them something (even if ultimately you do want them to buy from you).</p><p>Just be careful: it can be difficult to do this without sounding trite. Make sure your question is genuine and unique—not something they’ve heard a million times.</p><div>advertisement</div><h2>How to deliver and hone an elevator pitch</h2><p>When delivering an elevator pitch in person (or at least live), you need to be sure your delivery lives up to the pitch.</p><p>Practice it. Then, once you’ve practiced for a while, practice more. You want it to become second nature (but not sound rehearsed, which, ironically, comes with rehearsing).</p><p>You also need to test it out. Implement it as you meet new people, and check your results. If the pitch isn’t leading to more and deeper conversations, go back to the drawing board. And don’t be afraid to ask people what they thought about your elevator pitch (just don’t call it that when you’re talking to them). Feedback like this can be exactly what you need to make it work.</p><div>advertisement</div><p>Keep refining until you get something that consistently works for you.</p><h2>Adapt your pitch to the medium</h2><p>This method is meant for live elevator pitches. Of course, if you’re delivering your elevator pitch in writing, you won’t be able to have that pause or ask that same kind of conversational follow-up question.</p><p>I recommend creating a few versions of your pitch depending on the medium and the audience. For example, it’ll be different depending on whether you’re introducing yourself to a potential client on a sales call versus introducing yourself to multiple people at once in a Facebook Group.</p><div>advertisement</div><p>But regardless of the audience and regardless of the medium, those two original rules still stand: start with a hook and end with a question.</p><h2>Elevator pitch template</h2><p>Here’s an elevator pitch template to follow.</p><img title="elevator-pitch-template-01-template" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/lzny33ho1g45/2DwNOMiKwfuCfKncicRnH/0c19edff9c1fa083456814ffb51c1c5c/50d84bee10b5003c45336aff62f7742f.png?w=700" alt="Elevator pitch template" width="573" height="559"><p>Now go out and sell yourself.</p><div>advertisement</div><p dir="ltr">This <a href="https://zapier.com/blog/elevator-pitch-template/" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">article</a> originally appeared on <a href="https://zapier.com/blog/" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">Zapier’s blog</a> and is reprinted with permission.</p><h2>‘I’m in recovery’</h2><p>Until the pandemic hit, Frank (not his real name) worked at a high-end restaurant in Philadelphia. What his co-workers didn’t know at the time was that he was struggling with alcoholism. The environment, where he had ready access to alcohol and co-workers who loved to go out for drinks after work, made it difficult for him to quit.</p><div>advertisement</div><p dir="ltr">But, while many saw their <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90446120/this-is-what-happened-when-i-stopped-drinking-for-a-month" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">substance abuse issues increase</a> during the pandemic’s isolation, Frank was able to get his addiction under control, he says. Now that the restaurant is resuming full service again and inviting him to return to his old job, he has concerns about whether that will put his recovery in jeopardy. “Most people don’t recover because they’re not willing to change their lifestyle,” he says. If he refuses to return to his old job, money will be tight, but he’s pretty sure he can make a go of it. “I also don’t want to admit to all of my co-workers that I’m a recovering alcoholic,” he says.</p><h2>‘I don’t want to give up my side hustle’</h2><p dir="ltr">“My reluctance is really the opportunity cost of commuting,” says Shondra (not her real name), a public relations professional in New York City. Before she was laid off in April 2020, she would wake at 6 a.m. to have enough time to get ready, walk her dog, commute, and start work by 10 a.m. After she was laid off, she <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90595018/7-tips-for-starting-a-successful-side-hustle" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">started picking up freelance work</a>, which turned out to be lucrative—and which she could easily do from home.</p><p>Shondra has a new employer, but the plan about whether or not employees will be required to be back at the office full-time is “very unclear,” she says. For now, she has plenty of time to complete her responsibilities for her employer and work on her freelance projects. That won’t be the case if she goes back to her long commute. Plus, the thought of being on mass transit with so many other people gives her pause from a safety perspective, she says.</p><div>advertisement</div><p>She’s waiting to see what happens but is reluctant to give up the freelance work that got her through her layoff. “It’s given me the opportunity to build a nice nest egg, in case—God forbid—something like that happens again,” she says. “I don’t want to lose this opportunity by having to return to the office full-time.”</p><h4>About the author</h4><div dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Gwen Moran is a writer, editor, and creator of <a href="https://bloomanywhere.com/" dir="ltr">Bloom Anywhere</a>, a website for people who want to move up or move on. She writes about business, leadership, money, and assorted other topics for leading publications and websites</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/user/gwen-moran" dir="ltr"> More</a></p></div>

The point is to surprise the listener a bit with a “pattern interrupt.”


personaldevelopment

Personal Development

communication

Communication

The point is to surprise the listener a bit with a “pattern interrupt.”

<p>The elevator pitch might seem like an outdated idea—something an intern in a ’90s comedy had to come up with for a big presentation. But with increasingly short attention spans, the immediacy of social media, and the vast quantity of information bombarding people on an hourly basis, the concept of a short, attention-getting pitch is still valid. </p>

<p>And that’s really the key to an effective elevator pitch: short and catchy. </p>

<p>Meant for a quick answer to a question like “What do you do?” or “What does your company do?” the elevator pitch is a short description of your shtick, about one to three sentences long. </p>

<p>It’s called an elevator pitch because, back in the day, when people wore suits and rode elevators together without fearing for their lives, they’d have an elevator ride’s worth of time to give their pitch. </p>

<p>Your elevator pitch should begin with something unexpected (so people keep listening) and end with a question (so people engage). </p>

<p>I’m a business navigation consultant—I help entrepreneurs overcome their fear of failure to get to where they want to be. But that’s not my elevator pitch. This is: </p>

<p>I help people and organizations turn fiction into autobiography [pause for a second]. Most of us are living an unfinished story and would like to end up in an amazing place. What’s that place for you, and do you know how to get there? </p>

<p>The point is to surprise the listener a bit with a “pattern interrupt.” </p>

<p>They’re expecting to hear “I’m an attorney” or “I own XYZ Company” or “we sell coffee,” but instead, they’re caught a little off guard, they begin to pay attention, and they think, “wait…what?” The pause in the middle gives them time to process and change gears, starting to actually listen with interest. </p>

<p>Then I provide a little more context, so they realize I’m not talking about writing an actual book. And finally, I hit them with a question that requires a response other than just “yes” or “no.” This isn’t a mindless question, nor is it particularly easy to answer. Rather, it begins a conversation about <i>them </i>. Asking a probing question builds rapport—it shows that you’re not just trying to sell them something (even if ultimately you do want them to buy from you). </p>

<p>Just be careful: it can be difficult to do this without sounding trite. Make sure your question is genuine and unique—not something they’ve heard a million times. </p>

How to deliver and hone an elevator pitch

<p>When delivering an elevator pitch in person (or at least live), you need to be sure your delivery lives up to the pitch. </p>

<p>Practice it. Then, once you’ve practiced for a while, practice more. You want it to become second nature (but not sound rehearsed, which, ironically, comes with rehearsing). </p>

<p>You also need to test it out. Implement it as you meet new people, and check your results. If the pitch isn’t leading to more and deeper conversations, go back to the drawing board. And don’t be afraid to ask people what they thought about your elevator pitch (just don’t call it that when you’re talking to them). Feedback like this can be exactly what you need to make it work. </p>

<p>Keep refining until you get something that consistently works for you. </p>

<p>This method is meant for live elevator pitches. Of course, if you’re delivering your elevator pitch in writing, you won’t be able to have that pause or ask that same kind of conversational follow-up question. </p>

<p>I recommend creating a few versions of your pitch depending on the medium and the audience. For example, it’ll be different depending on whether you’re introducing yourself to a potential client on a sales call versus introducing yourself to multiple people at once in a Facebook Group. </p>

<p>But regardless of the audience and regardless of the medium, those two original rules still stand: start with a hook and end with a question. </p>

<p>Here’s an elevator pitch template to follow. </p>

<p>This <a href="https://zapier.com/blog/elevator-pitch-template/">article </a>originally appeared on <a href="https://zapier.com/blog/">Zapier’s blog </a>and is reprinted with permission. </p>

<p>Until the pandemic hit, Frank (not his real name) worked at a high-end restaurant in Philadelphia. What his co-workers didn’t know at the time was that he was struggling with alcoholism. The environment, where he had ready access to alcohol and co-workers who loved to go out for drinks after work, made it difficult for him to quit. </p>

<p>But, while many saw their <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90446120/this-is-what-happened-when-i-stopped-drinking-for-a-month">substance abuse issues increase </a>during the pandemic’s isolation, Frank was able to get his addiction under control, he says. Now that the restaurant is resuming full service again and inviting him to return to his old job, he has concerns about whether that will put his recovery in jeopardy. “Most people don’t recover because they’re not willing to change their lifestyle,” he says. If he refuses to return to his old job, money will be tight, but he’s pretty sure he can make a go of it. “I also don’t want to admit to all of my co-workers that I’m a recovering alcoholic,” he says. </p>

‘I don’t want to give up my side hustle’

<p>“My reluctance is really the opportunity cost of commuting,” says Shondra (not her real name), a public relations professional in New York City. Before she was laid off in April 2020, she would wake at 6 a.m. to have enough time to get ready, walk her dog, commute, and start work by 10 a.m. After she was laid off, she <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90595018/7-tips-for-starting-a-successful-side-hustle">started picking up freelance work </a>, which turned out to be lucrative—and which she could easily do from home. </p>

<p>Shondra has a new employer, but the plan about whether or not employees will be required to be back at the office full-time is “very unclear,” she says. For now, she has plenty of time to complete her responsibilities for her employer and work on her freelance projects. That won’t be the case if she goes back to her long commute. Plus, the thought of being on mass transit with so many other people gives her pause from a safety perspective, she says. </p>

<p>She’s waiting to see what happens but is reluctant to give up the freelance work that got her through her layoff. “It’s given me the opportunity to build a nice nest egg, in case—God forbid—something like that happens again,” she says. “I don’t want to lose this opportunity by having to return to the office full-time.” </p>

<p>Gwen Moran is a writer, editor, and creator of <a href="https://bloomanywhere.com/">Bloom Anywhere </a>, a website for people who want to move up or move on. She writes about business, leadership, money, and assorted other topics for leading publications and websites </p>

This is one of the best ways to answer ‘What do you do?’

The Elevator Pitch

Four Steps To Effective Elevator Pitching

How To Deliver An Elevator Pitch

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