The elevator speech is utter nonsense—stop using it
No one wants to hear you explain your brand during an elevator ride, nor do they want a jargon-packed statement. So please, just stop it already.
No entrepreneur can get through a day without someone asking, “Do you have an elevator pitch?” For the unenlightened, an elevator pitch is a company description so concise that one can deliver it effectively and persuasively to a fellow elevator passenger before he exits to his floor.
Seriously?
A few questions to ask yourself: Is the journey one floor or 100? Can your ad-hoc prospect focus in an elevator? Do the other riders want to hear you talk? Are unknown competitors or journalists present to take advantage of your comments or the way you deliver them?
The elevator pitch is a total farce—stop trying to create and perfect it
Articles abound on elevator etiquette. Why? Because riding in an enclosed box with strangers makes people feel awkward and unsure how to act. Some are claustrophobic and fear a service breakdown. They want space, silence, anonymity. They stare at their shoes, at the ceiling, at the floor indicators. Mostly, they want to get the hell out of there, as soon as possible.
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