I used to cringe when anyone involved in my organization said, “We need an elevator pitch.”
My computer desktop was littered with talking points and elevator pitches – rarely, if ever, used by me or anyone who wanted us to create them.
I admit it. I was burnt on the concept.
If you know me, you know I agonized over this.
Distilling the essence of what you do down to a sentence or two is … well … your mission, right? “Just memorize that and call it a day,” I used to think. If we’re all going to say the same thing, shouldn’t our mission statement be the thing we say? Again, no one seems to do that in practice. And it does sound a tad wooden in the execution.
Also, I was sure (and still am) that I had been on the receiving end of carefully crafted elevator pitches in my day, yet I did not remember ONE of them. Why would ours be magically memorable in ways that others weren’t?
I also couldn’t navigate the practicalities of this request.
Exactly how many stories is this elevator traveling? Do I need a two-floor, five-floor, and ten-floor version?
I would think of all the people who would need to use this pitch and wonder, “What are the odds we are ever all going to use the same script?” I put that likelihood near zero.
Even if we all used the same script, could anyone but an actor or savvy communications pro sound natural delivering this pitch? My cynicism was getting the better of me.
After tiring of my own agonizing, I wondered if well-intentioned folks were just asking for something they thought they wanted.
Were they coming up with a solution because they couldn’t name the problem?
Behind the phrase “elevator pitch” I started to hear a desire to tell the story of the organization in a way that the mission alone didn’t fulfill – a desire to bring it to life, yet succinctly. “Elevator pitch” was just the best way they had to describe that desire.
I also began to appreciate that these good folks wanted to tell the story of the organization. Let’s not resist a good intention.
People were also looking for a way to overcome their own obstacles to telling that story: nerves, discomfort describing anything but the financials of the organization, lack of experience sharing about caring (their passion).
Everyone was looking for a way past their own discomfort with one of the duties of good ambassadors – expanding the organization’s network by sharing its story. And here I was, trying to control what they wanted, not influencing and redirecting how they went about it – finding a better solution for the itch they needed to scratch.
I wasn’t annoyed by what they wanted but how they wanted to go about it. That was on me to fix.
Looking from this new vantage point, the concept of a pitch of some kind grew on me.
I felt that it was less important for everyone to say exactly the same thing and more important to capitalize on their excitement for telling the story of the organization and its mission. What each board member shares needs to be accurate but by no means identical to what others say. It needs to be more personal than any scripted talking point could ever be.
And if the story is personal, there will be no memorization involved, no wooden recitation, no deer in the headlights when someone says, “Tell me more.”
So now, when I work with boards who want an elevator pitch, I celebrate the desire and lead board members through two activities.
First, as a group, we brainstorm (post-its everywhere, as you can imagine):
What this organization is truly exceptional at
Evidence for that claim.
Often, we come out of that first exercise with a few to-do’s on evaluation, which is also a good thing, I believe.
I then create space for each board member to write down:
Why they love the mission – why this mission is personally meaningful to them
Using the earlier brainstorm, one thing that makes the organization different (in an exciting way) from others they know.
Also using the above brainstorm, one reason they know this is true
From that, I invite each board member to put it all together – just three sentences, one for each bullet point above – make a few edits, and voila!
Each person has their personal pitch – whether they use it in an elevator, during drop off at their kid’s school, or at a cocktail party.
We even practice with and for each other – in pairs and then the entire group. There’s lots of smiles, nods, oohs and aahs, and more than a few choked-back tears.
We work through the nervousness together. A wonderful byproduct of this exercise is that we also strengthen the connection between board members – setting the stage for improving the overall board experience and quality of teamwork.
I promise that the people you meet will be more curious after this pitch than if you memorize three lines that some communications pro wrote. And they’ll probably remember the pitch because it’s authentic.
We end by confronting one obstacle that most board members feel and express. What will you say if someone (gasp!) asks you a question you don’t have the answer to or requests more information than you have at your fingertips? This fear stops a lot of pitches in their tracks before they even begin.
Here’s your answer. Introduce them to your fabulous executive director like the stellar ambassador you are. Remember, their question is a sign that the conversation can continue and that you can turn this over to the person who has fielded this question and hundreds just like it.
That’s so simple and yet somehow not what we think to do when we feel like we are being interrogated under a bare lightbulb.
Saying, “Our wonderful executive can answer all your questions. Let’s all get together for coffee or a phone call” will turn this moment into the opportunity it can and should be.
The phrase “elevator pitch” could use a better elevator pitch. Don’t you agree?
To learn more about my work with boards – from coaching to retreat facilitation to strategic planning – email me at gary@garybagley.com or follow me and DM me on LinkedIn.
Comments