Honing Your Elevator Pitch

Every movie started with a logline, a one or two line synopsis to grab the attention of studio executives. For Jaws, it was: A police chief, with a phobia for open water, battles a gigantic shark with an appetite for swimmers and boat captains, in spite of a greedy town council who demands that the beach stay open.

Every business proposal should similarly be able to be summed up in a “grabber” elevator pitch – so-called because it could be delivered in a brief ride between floors, or in any situation where someone first asks, “What does your product or company do?” Take the pitch for Google’s original startup: Google organizes the world’s information and makes it universally accessible.

Harvard Graduate School of Design Instructor Carmine Gallo, author of Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to get from Good to Great, offers guidelines for crafting a clear, concise pitch that captivates: 

• Keep it short: Make it easy to say and remember, and light on details. As an exercise, see if you can get it under 140 characters (Google’s was 77).
• Identify one thing that caters to the needs of your audience: Steve Jobs dubbed the iPod “1,000 songs in your pocket.” Who could resist?  (Tweet it!)
• Get your whole team on the same page: Every individual who speaks on behalf of your company or product should deliver the same logline.

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What is your process for coming up with an elevator pitch? Does your entire team use the same message? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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