Why I Challenge the Elevator Pitch

In today’s quick-fix society, we are focused on the fastest and easiest way to accomplish our goals. We search for instant gratification in our phones, shorten words into acronyms, and use our car horns to express anger over accident prevention. We are in a constant state of reactivity over proactivity and the trouble is, we may be moving so fast that we pass up opportunities, moments of growth, and the ability to accomplish a lot more by fully stopping.

Elevator Pitch-a succinct and persuasive sales pitch 

By definition the elevator pitch is a one-sided dialogue with a  focus on selling something and is a hindrance to genuine connection. Imagine being the person on the other side of someone spewing off information about themselves without taking a break for feedback or reflection, in fact, company leaders have shared with me that often times this pitch is not even tailored to their organization. 

The pitch is a quick fix to put it all out there in a way that quickly bullets out how great something is. As an alternative, think about the impact of coming up with some really deep questions to ask the other person, leading to conversation and connection rather than a one-way dialogue. Instead of spending time perfecting your elevator pitch, think about great examples that demonstrate what you have to offer. In conversation, incorporate these examples as stories: people are much more engaged with storytelling and if you are good at it, you can influence other’s emotions through stories to create excitement or a sense of urgency. Your presence and capabilities will leave a lasting impression if you take the time to disconnect from the mainstream pitches and focus on the person.

Maintaining human connection in our ever-changing world of technological advances is not a luxury but rather a necessity. The balance of technical and emotional makes it difficult to move from task to context and action to relationship.  Let’s move past the antiquated standard of pitching or selling anything and focus on others: what they care about, what their challenges are, perhaps how you can help, and in doing this you can turn a conversation into a connection and a connection into something much more magical than a nod of approval but rather a relationship.