An elevator pitch is essentially a short speech intended to generate interest in an idea or proposition within a very limited timeframe. How long does it take to go a couple of floors in an elevator? A few seconds, once the doors close? Or if you’re going to the higher floors in modern buildings, it can take as much as 30 seconds. There may be times when you have to pitch your idea – your product, service, or company – in that brief amount of time. And when you want to do this, you can’t improvise; you have to plan ahead so you can explain your idea quickly.
You’ll use your elevator pitch at other times than just in elevators, but the metaphor – that of time ticking away as the floors go by – is useful. You may use it at conferences when you meet new people, and are networking between panels. You can use it when you run into someone in a coffee shop or grocery store. And you may even use it in an elevator, when you’ve met someone who might invest in your company.
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