An elevator pitch is a short spoken introduction, about 30 seconds, that tells someone who you help, what you do for them, and why it matters, then opens a conversation. Write it in four plain parts, cut it until it fits in one breath per idea, and practise it out loud until it sounds like you talking rather than you reciting.
When you'll actually use it
The name comes from the idea of meeting someone important in a lift and having until your floor to make an impression. In practice you will use it far more often: at networking events, at the start of a job interview ("tell me about yourself"), when you join a new team, on a sales call, at a conference table, or in the first minute of a video meeting with people who do not know you.
Because the situations vary, it helps to think of your pitch as a core you can stretch to 15 seconds or 60, rather than one fixed paragraph.
A four-part structure
- 1Who you help. Start with the people, not your job title. "I work with small manufacturers who…" is more interesting than "I'm a senior account manager."
- 2The problem you solve. One sentence about what goes wrong for them without you.
- 3What you do about it. Plainly, without jargon. What changes for them?
- 4An opening. End with a question or an invitation, so the other person has somewhere to go: "How do you handle that at your company?"
Examples you can adapt
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
| Networking | "I help family-run restaurants that are losing money on food waste. We set up simple ordering and stock systems, so owners can see the difference on their monthly bill. Do you know anyone in the restaurant business?" |
| Job interview | "I've spent six years in customer support, most recently leading a team of eight. What I'm good at is turning angry customers into loyal ones, and training other people to do it. That's why this role caught my eye." |
| New team | "I'm the new data analyst. My job is to make sure the numbers you see each Monday are right and easy to read. If a report ever doesn't make sense, I'm the person to ask." |
These are illustrations, not templates to copy word for word. A pitch that sounds borrowed is worse than an imperfect one that sounds like you.
Cut it down
Your first draft will be too long. Read it aloud and time it. Then cut:
- Any sentence that describes your company's history.
- Lists of three or more services. Pick the one most relevant to the person in front of you.
- Words like "innovative", "passionate", "solutions" and "synergy". They take up space and say nothing.
- Anything you would not say out loud to someone at a party.
Say it out loud
An elevator pitch is a spoken thing. A pitch that reads well on paper can still sound stiff, because written sentences are longer and more formal than speech. The only way to fix that is to practise it out loud, many times, until the words feel like yours.
- Know it, but don't recite it. Learn the four parts, not the exact words. Then you can adjust to the person and the moment without losing your place.
- Slow down. Most people rush a pitch because they want it over with. Pause between the parts. Earl's advice for anyone who speaks too quickly is to count two beats between phrases.
- Land the key word. In each sentence, decide which word matters most and give it a little more weight. "We cut their food waste in half" sounds different from a flat delivery of the same line. Our guide to using emotion in your voice covers this.
- Look at them. Eye contact, especially on the problem and the opening question.
- Stop. When you reach the question at the end, stop talking and let them answer.
Practise where it's safe
Record yourself on your phone and watch it back. Try it on a friend and ask them to tell you, in their own words, what you do. If they cannot, rewrite and try again.
For job interviews, sales roles and leadership positions, the pitch is often the first thing people judge you on. It is a common focus in one-to-one coaching, and teams preparing for client meetings or trade events can work on it together through corporate training.