🏢Work-Life Wednesday: Pitching Your Ideas

Welcome to Work-Life Wednesday, where we deep-dive into leadership best practices to maximize your growth potential.

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—elevator pitch⤴

You never know when somebody important will show interest in your idea or project. You could be on a conference call, getting coffee, at the bar, or in an elevator when you meet that decision-maker who can push along your idea, so you need to be ready for that moment. I’ve definitely been asked “So what are you working on currently?” and didn't have my ducks in a row to pitch the big idea. Pitching your ideas sounds simple but so many people get it wrong. Elevator pitches can be boring, or even too detailed, but today we’re going to fix yours.

A good elevator pitch is a concise, compelling, and memorable introduction or summary of yourself, your business, or your idea. It's called an "elevator pitch" because it should be so brief that you can deliver it in the time it takes to ride an elevator with someone, typically about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Here are some key elements that make a good elevator pitch:

🔍Clarity and Conciseness:

• Your pitch should be clear and to the point. Avoid jargon or technical language that might confuse your audience.

• Keep it concise. Focus on the most important information and eliminate unnecessary details.

🎣Engaging Hook:

• Start with a hook or a compelling opening that grabs the listener's attention. This can be a thought-provoking question, a surprising statistic, or a relatable problem.

❌✅Problem-Solution:

• Clearly state the problem or need that your product, service, or idea addresses. Explain why it matters.

• Follow up with a concise description of how your offering provides a solution or meets this need.

🦄Unique Selling Proposition (USP):

• Highlight what sets you or your offering apart from the competition. What makes it unique, innovative, or superior?

• Emphasize the benefits or value that your audience will gain from your solution.

🎯Target Audience:

• Mention your target audience or ideal customers. This helps the listener quickly assess whether your pitch is relevant to them.

📃Social Proof or Achievements:

• If applicable, mention any relevant accomplishments, awards, or partnerships that lend credibility to your pitch.

📞Call to Action:

• End with a clear call to action. What do you want the listener to do next? This could be scheduling a meeting, trying your product, or requesting more information.

🎬Practice and Rehearsal:

• Practice your elevator pitch until it flows smoothly and confidently. Be prepared to adjust it based on your audience and context.

• Practice in front of friends, mentors, or colleagues to get feedback and refine your delivery.

🔮Adaptability:

• Tailor your elevator pitch to different audiences and situations. What works for potential investors may not be the same as what you'd say to potential customers.

🤯Passion and Authenticity:

• Show enthusiasm and passion for your idea or business. Authenticity can be contagious and make your pitch more memorable.

📚Storytelling:

• Use storytelling techniques to make your pitch more relatable and memorable. Share a brief anecdote or a real-life example that illustrates your point.

Remember, the goal of an elevator pitch is not to provide every detail about your business or idea but to generate interest and curiosity. If done well, it should prompt the listener to want to learn more or take the next step in the conversation.

👨‍💻Elevator Pitch Hack. You can use “Chat Bots” like Bing Chat to fix your wordy elevator pitch. Let’s try it out on a fictional company. We all like beer right? Let’s use Bing Chat to fix a boring, wordy, elevator pitch for our fictional brewery called “Sweet Nectar Brewery” (sounds tasty)

Boring elevator pitch: “So I started a brewery 5 years ago called “Sweet Nectar Brewery” that I’m extremely excited about. We make beers of all types like Lagers, Ales, Pilsners, IPAs, Stouts, Sours, and many more. We started out of our garage but opened a brick and mortar in North Carolina 2 years back. We’re doing $10k in gross revenue per month and are looking for investors who are as passionate about our company as we are to help us distribute our beer nationally. Are you interested?”

First, go to Bing Chat and make sure your conversation style is set to “More Balanced”.

Try using the command “Can you make this boring elevator pitch better? paste bad elevator pitch from above”

Bing Chat’s output tells a more interesting story that’s pleasing to the ears:

Bing Chat can be a powerful tool but you make sure not to let it do the work for you. To sell others on your ideas, you need to believe in the product you’re selling. Using other people’s (or bot’s) words might not come across authentic, so use the tool as a teacher instead of a robot to inform yourself about your product/idea.

Practice your elevator pitch until it’s second nature. Your first time won’t be perfect, but by practicing on a different types of people, you’ll quickly become a pro.

_{Written by Bailey Hepler}

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