What is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch is a short summary of your background and experience. It is known as an elevator pitch as it should be short enough to present during a brief elevator ride i.e. 20-30 seconds or in about 75 words. An elevator pitch can also be used to introduce a business or project idea to someone.

In essence, it’s the ability to portray your offer (your skills, services or experience) in a convincing and succinct manner. A good pitch should be around 20-30 seconds which tells your audience exactly what they need to know to see if they want to take it further.

Below are a list of example videos and tips to perfect your elevator pitch whether that be for a piece of funding you want to apply for, giving your offer to a company or selling your product to customers.

Top tips for a good elevator pitch

• The pitch should be no more than 20-30 seconds
• You may want to start with a question or a problem to frame the pitch
• Tone of voice and pace is important. Sound upbeat and have a normal pace of speaking. Do not rush it
• It is best to avoid the use of jargons or complex words
• You may need more than one pitch – tailor the pitch to the audience
• Practice makes perfect. Its very important to practice and to some extent internalise the pitch
• It is best to end with a clear call of action (e.g. what would you like to do/what are you asking for)

Structure of an elevator pitch

When should you use an elevator pitch?

The primary use of an elevator pitch is to introduce yourself or your idea. It is very useful at networking sessions or at the start of a longer presentation. Some of the main uses of an elevator pitch are:

• To get attention quickly
• To demonstrate confidence and clarity of thought (in the idea)
• To sell something
• To gain finance or other support
• To gather support from a key person/s
• To stand out among other pitches and presentations

 

Elevator pitches and public engagement

Communicating your research/ teaching to a lay audience can be tricky – research is typically complex and nuanced and if we oversimplify we can mislead people. However when you’re looking to engage public with your research/ teaching – either by involving them as partners in the process, or by encouraging more people to come to an event you might be running which would give them a broader overview of your latest research project – there are useful lessons to learn from elevator pitching! A big part of getting people to want to get more involved in what you’re passionate about is having a hook which lets them identify how what you’re “selling” is relevant to them. What will they gain from coming to your event or sitting down at a meeting with you about how you might work together? This is helpful to bear in mind both for spoken pitches but also for written pitches – for example an event description, a tweet, or a flyer.

Examples of PE focussed Elevator Pitches

Tish Mehta (PhD Student - Physics)

Use the play button to hear her pitch, or read the text below.

"What’s the difference between the Sun and a wobbling bowl of Jelly? Well, they’re more similar than you might think! Hi, I’m Tish, a researcher at the University of Warwick, and I study the waves and wobbles that rage through the interior of our Sun. We believe that studying these waves will help us get a better understanding of how and why our Sun shines. And that’s why I’m looking for funding for a special purpose-built telescope so we can look at these wobbles on our Sun more closely."

Phil Jemmett (Engagement Project Officer - WMG)

Dr Marth McGill (Research Fellow - History)

More examples

The assessment for the first year module Environmental Principles of Global Sustainable Development requires students to research and present professional Policy Briefings. The students also create an oral Policy Pitch: something to say to busy decision makers, during an opportune moment, as a way to promote interest in reading the written paper. They specify the ideal target as someone capable of making the recommended policy and practice changes as a way to think strategically about advocacy.

You can view examples of these pitches and briefings on the Global Sustainable Development web pages.