Duplicate of Public Speaking Tips for an Elevator Pitch
Elevator Pitch is one of my least favourite presenting terms – for many reasons.
I appreciate that the point is that you are hypothetically getting into an elevator (lift!) and that significant person who you have been desperately trying to contact, but have been unable to reach, because their PA has taken the role of first defence for blocking all unwanted and unsolicited contacts incredibly seriously, has just entered the elevator (lift) and you now only have the time it takes for the lift to travel three floors to put your point across.
This brief coming together of opportunity and scarcity of time to get your message across means that the pitch needs to be quick, clear, compelling and delivered with conviction.
The end of that scenario, ‘quick, clear, compelling, and delivered with conviction’ I agree with wholeheartedly, because those words should not be limited to just an elevator pitch, they should be true of all presentations.
So what is my problem with the term Elevator Pitch?
Great communicators paint pictures and while preparing the last details of a presentation it is always worth checking to see if the imagery you are using is at best, uplifting and positive (and if it is not there should be a good reason why you would choose to paint a picture that is unsettling and negative) and that there are no unforeseen negative connotations.
The real problem for us as speakers is when we come up with an image that superficially meets our needs, but inadvertently has negative undertones.
A few years ago an expert in online marketing offered to write some articles for me, as he concluded that for the online world what I wrote was not snappy enough (!!). I cannot remember his exact reference, but he had chosen to stress that Structure, Eye Contact, Gestures, or some other key skill in speaking, if used properly, will have an enormous impact on the audience – and he chose to say that this skill was the ‘nuclear bomb’ of speaking skills.
Needless to say, fairly quickly I received a few communications to the effect of that was the most tasteless analogy imaginable. His purpose was to express the awesome power of this particular speaking skill, however, he had not thought it through from other angles, undertones, and reverberations – and had come up with an image that was very shocking and quite distasteful.
So – ‘Elevator Pitch’.
Despite the indications above, I have nothing against the American term elevator, as opposed to the English lift.
A ‘Lift Pitch’ might sound like a wrestling move.
My first objection is personal, I don’t really like elevators – they often feel a bit claustrophobic and on top of that there is the idea that some person is about to get on and thrust themselves in my face and pitch when I am quietly getting into my ‘happy space’ – that is particularly unwelcome.
Secondly, I have an ongoing problem with the word ‘pitch’ as used for sales or business presentations.
Again – think of the undertone to that image; is my presentation something that I am going to ‘throw’ at you, maybe with a bit of sneaky ‘deceptive spin’, or maybe to catch you unawares and ‘smash you right between the eyes’? The image contains no sense of ‘sharing’ ‘helping’; a ‘pitch’ is something that you throw at someone, not share with someone.
‘Elevator pitch’ therefore feels aggressive – I understand why – because the situation is scary and the moment might not come around again, so dive in both feet and ‘grab’ them by whatever is in reach.
As presenters we need to see beyond that, because however you are feeling, the presentation must at least seem as if it is for their benefit, not just yours because in communication, sharing an idea will always be more effective than thrusting an idea.
I do appreciate that the term ‘Concise sharing opportunity’ is not as catchy as ‘Elevator Pitch’, and that is why we will stick with the accepted ‘Elevator Pitch’.
10 tips for an excellent Elevator Pitch.
(1 – 5 General)
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What is your point?
Until the message is clear in your head, it will not be clear in the hearer’s. So if chance says that the lucky recipient of your Elevator Pitch is intending to get out on the next floor, rather than on the third floor, can you quickly come to the point?
What is your message in a nutshell? Is it:
‘I can help you.’
‘I have something that could be of value to you.’
‘Marry me.’ (A marriage proposal might be one of the most important Elevator pitches you ever do.)
Richard Branson was known for breezing into a presentation room just as the presenter was setting up and saying:
‘I was intending to be at your presentation, but I have just been called away. Can you tell me in thirty seconds why I should buy whatever it is you are selling?’
This may or may not be true. If it is, it was probably not done out of mischief. Richard Branson most likely assumed that if the presenter knew his subject, he would be able to sum it up quickly and succinctly.
And if he could not sum it up in a few words, he was not clear enough about his proposition.
Always remember, your prospect might be getting out of the lift sooner than you expected or more typically you find that you only have three minutes to deliver your twenty-minute presentation.
So – in a nutshell – what is the core message of your presentation?
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Why you? Why me?
Dale Carnegie’s book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ is full of examples of people who write letters or deliver presentations explaining how they might specifically be able to solve the recipient’s problem.
I am sure I am not alone in receiving regular contacts about how to improve our website, how to gain more customers, how to generate more income.
And I am sure I am not alone in ignoring them all. Why? – because the message is generic and sent out indiscriminately to anyone on a randomly drawn-up list.
I have a clear picture of what they want and no suggestion that they even know who I am.
I knew someone at school who would indiscriminately ask girls out on a date. When he was turned down he would go on to the next girl, and then the next.
If you are the thirteenth girl on the list and you know most of the other twelve have turned him down, you willnot feel very special, especially if the invitation feels completely generic.
So if you are in a lift and that important he or she steps in, let them know quickly how you can help them - specifically them - with their problem and try not to give the impression that you hang around in foyers waiting for just anyone to pitch to.
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Research
Find out what they need, and show them how you could be the solution.
I heard a speaker recounting how he saw the founder of MacDonald’s, Ray Kroc in a restaurant, and understanding how invasive and upsetting an unsolicited intrusion could be, he was very conscious of not wasting his ‘one shot’ at speaking to him.
Firstly he sincerely and humbly complimented Ray Kroc, saying he was one of his idols
(people like to feel they matter) and said:
‘Can I ask you just one question?’
(He had his attention, so he would probably get away with one question.)
And he did not want to waste his one question by asking something that he could find out in any book or article on Ray Kroc. He had done his research on his hero and so asked him something that he could not have found out any other way.
In effect what he was saying to Ray Kroc was:
‘Your time is valuable and I do not want to waste it on something that I could have found out somewhere else.’
I am not suggesting you delve into the deepest personal secrets of your prospect, but do enough research to show them that you presentation is specific to them and your solution is a solution to a problem that clearly resonates with them.
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Flexibility
If you have a five-floor elevator pitch and your prospect gets off on level two, you need to be able to
adapt your presentation to the circumstances. In your ‘Marry me’ pitch, you may have prepared an observation about their beautiful eyes, how well you work together, and how you intend to dedicate the rest of your life to making them happy, but as the doors close you only have time to shout:
‘I love you!’ – that is your message.
Therefore it is worth preparing your presentation well, knowing what the key elements are, knowing what you could leave out if necessary, and maybe even know how to expand on certain points if required.
Never memorise word for word, as that will make you inflexible.
Memorise the structure, the hook, and the message and think it through, think it through, think it through regularly, so that it feels natural and you feel capable of deviating from the format without losing your place or forgetting the essentials.
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Believe
Believe in yourself, your words, and the value of your offering. If you have any doubt it will show up when you are speaking and your attitude might be more, ‘sorry to bother you’, than ‘I have something of value for you’.
(6 – 10 Specific Structure)
Always remembering that Structure is there to support you, not to restrict you or tie you in knots.
If it does not support and help the flow, it is the wrong structure.
Hence the five steps or elements below are a useful blue-print to be taken or adapted as necessary
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(Step 1) Hook
A hook is a way of grabbing attention. It therefore needs to be interesting and relevant.
One of the best ways of doing that is to identify a problem, not any problem, their problem, maybe even their biggest problem.
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(Step 2) Solution
You have identified the issue – that has got their attention.
Now how can you help?
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(Step 3) Benefit
What would that solution look like to them?
How would it benefit, ease, or remove their pain?
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(Step 4) USP
Share your ‘Unique Selling Point’
In Step 2 you have indicated a solution.
Assuming you have held their attention so far, let them know not just that you can help, but expand on how your background, experience, knowledge make you uniquely capable of offering a solution that no one else can.
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(Step 5) CTA
What is your Call to Action?
What do you want them to do as a result of this brief meeting?
Your elevator pitch may be designed to move the prospect to take a specific action, or it may be designed to win you a further interview when you can explain more fully,
but you need to be clear in your head what a successful outcome looks like:
‘That is very interesting, I will get back to you some time.’ - is not a successful outcome
‘That is very interesting. Call my PA and make an appointment for next week.’ - is.
As many leadership courses will teach you:
‘Set you goals in concrete and your plans in sand.’
Be very clear about what you want to achieve through your presentation, and allow yourself flexibility to get there.
After all every presentation – even an Elevator Pitch – should feel personal and unique.
