In or Out of an Elevator, Have Your Message
By Carol Schadelbauer, May 8, 2015
Gwendolyn Craig
Nancy Goldberg’s article, “Blah, Blah, Blah. You’re in Trouble If You Can’t Master the Elevator Pitch” in Inside Philanthropy not only tells organization leaders that they ought to have an “elevator pitch,” but she also digs up the background on the term, which has always been a curious question for us. At Burness, we’ve assumed a mythical ad guy like Don Draper from AMC’s hit drama Mad Men probably came up with it. But interestingly, it came from fashion editors.
The “elevator pitch” term is well-known among people we train at Burness and tossed around with a somewhat sarcastic tone. “Yeah, I know I’m supposed to do this, but nothing can be said in 30 seconds,” some say.
When experts go deep on a topic, whether the CEO of an organization, a scientist, or teacher, they so easily forget that the rest of the world doesn’t have the context, or in some cases, even a mild understanding of what they do or their organization does. A lot can be said in 30 seconds. What’s the problem? The solution? Why should I care now? Answers to these three questions can be said in 30 seconds. But preparation is everything. Experts need to get into the minds of their audience, and we ask experts to put themselves in their shoes for a while before preparing messages.
The article’s most important point is the last sentence: “People love a story, especially in the development field. So here’s one: A guy walks into an elevator… and leaves with a meeting that led to a donation.”
One scientist who came to us was frustrated about fundraising. We helped him simplify his message, cut his PowerPoint down from 50 to 10 slides, and in conversation with him, found a story he never knew he had to tell. A week later I received an email from him after a meeting with a funder: “It worked! She is writing a check.”
Reason enough to prepare, and important enough to have a brief way of describing what you do or need, even if you aren’t on an elevator.