James McKenzie explains why a good elevator pitch is so vital – whether it’s introducing yourself, writing a CV or pitching a technology or business plan
I was recently at a networking event, balancing a glass of wine in one hand and a plate of mini samosas and onion bhajis in the other, when someone came up to talk to me. Initially, they sounded impressive but then spent the next five minutes droning on entirely about themselves, barely pausing for breath. Rather than ask any questions myself, which would have been polite, I simply exchanged contact details and escaped by pretending my drink needed a top-up. My fellow guest had clearly forgotten the old adage of talking and listening using the same proportions as the one mouth and two ears we’re born with.
The incident got me thinking about the merits of concise communication and why the “elevator pitch” – a pithy, 30-second summary to sell yourself or your product – is so important in many social and business situations. Interestingly, the term elevator pitch originates not from the time you get standing next to a potential customer in an office lift, but from the first demonstration of an elevator with a safety brake system. It dates back to 1852 when the American inventor Elisha Otis created a locking system that would catch and secure a plummeting elevator whose hoisting ropes had failed.
Unable to find much interest in his innovation, Otis organized a demonstration at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. Standing in an elevator, he instructed an assistant to sever the hoisting ropes and, to the audience’s astonishment, the lift didn’t plummet. Instead, it moved barely a few centimetres before the safety brake engaged. Otis’ innovation paved the way for humans to ride in elevators without fear and, whether or not the story’s true, it’s one to remember if you ever really are stuck in a lift and can’t think how to break an embarrassing silence.
Networking events should be about finding the right people to talk to – and that’s why you need a good elevator pitch
But back to those networking events. To me, they aren’t about finding someone to simply pass the time with – they should be about finding the right people to talk to. If you’re lucky, you might strike gold with the first person you meet. More often than not, though, you’ll have to move around the room to find someone useful to you. And that’s why you need a good elevator pitch. You need to be able to deliver a short, positive and punchy introduction to yourself and then ask your guest about themselves.
If they respond with a similarly pushy elevator pitch, you’ll soon know if you have – or haven’t – got something of mutual interest to discuss. But even if the person’s pitch doesn’t appear to be of interest, their work may become relevant in the future so I always share contact details; you never know where life will take you. So swap business cards, say it was good to meet, and thank them for their time. Networking events can be awkward, but I find this strategy works well.
Pitch perfect
An elevator pitch is a bit like an advert or the cover of a book: it should help you decide whether to buy the product, not to tell you everything that’s in it. Like any form of marketing, a good elevator pitch will help you turn people into potential customers of you or your product. And if that seems all a bit grubby for you as a physicist, remember that it’s what you do already when writing your CV. It’s essentially a mini-elevator pitch.
You might think a CV is all about dates and facts, making it hard to get wrong. However, I was recently talking to a friend who’s done some amazing things in his life and was surprised to hear he was struggling to get an interview. When I looked at his CV, I immediately saw the problem. It was five pages long, printed in eight-point font and basically dull. After I helped my friend focus on his desired role, the CV was trimmed to a page. Remember, a CV is designed to get a job interview – not the job itself – so don’t turn it into a book.
Selling yourself isn’t hard; you just need a little preparation. Similarly, if you’ve got just a minute to pitch a business idea to an investor or a product to a customer, start by defining the problem you’re trying to solve. If your product or service doesn’t solve a problem that potential customers have, you don’t have a viable business model.
Ideally, you should be able to describe the problem you’re solving in no more than a sentence or two. You’ll need to define exactly who has the problem you’re solving and give an estimate of the size of your target market. You’ll also have to describe the competition. Every business or technology has competitors and it’s naive to ignore them or pretend they don’t exist. When cars were new, the competition wasn’t other cars but horses. Car manufacturers had to explain why combustion engines were better than just giving customers faster horses.
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With the problem spelled out, now you can describe your solution. You don’t need to explain every aspect of your technology – if someone’s really interested, they’ll ask. And think about what’s next. Are you looking for financial investment? Or are you just after help? Tell your new contact what they need to know to secure you that next meeting or introduction.
Even if you’re in academia, a good elevator pitch is vital to explaining what you do. It’s the thinking behind the Institute of Physics’ Three Minute Wonder competition, which challenges researchers or project team members in the UK and Ireland to explain their work in three minutes flat. Once you’ve got a good elevator pitch down to a tee, those networking events might not seem so bad after all – and the only thing you’ll have to worry about is not dropping your onion bhajis.
