FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What does Elevator Speech Training by Video Call (EST) do?
EST helps nonprofit and business leaders achieve remarkable improvements to their pitches in just one or two training sessions.

What makes EST unique?
Three things make EST unique: A) EST focuses on simple but smart changes to your pitch that produce immediate and remarkable improvements. B) All sessions are by video call making the training easy and accessible. Participants only need a computer and a quiet place and there is no need for set-up or travel. And C) All sessions are one-on-one.

How can just one or two training sessions make much of a difference?
Every EST session focuses on identifying and practicing simple but smart changes that make your pitch immediately much more effective. Examples are: Emphasizing right in the beginning WHY you do what you do as opposed to leading with the WHAT of your day-to-day work. Another example is adding to one’s pitch information about why your work matters to you on a personal and emotional level.

Why is EST only conducted one-on-one and not in group settings?
EST is highly efficient in large part because participants get to rapidly try out new approaches in a private, confidential, and relaxed environment together with an empathic coach. This is not possible in a group setting with its inherent lack of privacy.

What are the three phases of each training engagement?
Phase one is preparation on our part to personalize the training based on a participant’s work. For example, we will have looked at an organization’s Web site, a participant’s LinkedIn page, and will have reviewed, if available, recent press coverage. We have even gone as far as reading a participant’s book to prepare for a session. This phase also involves preparation on the participant’s part, for example, by familiarizing themselves with our Elevator Speech Framework or sharing with us relevant materials about their project or work. Phase two is the training itself. It usually takes an hour, is always one-on-one, and conducted by video call. Phase three consists of follow-up, including an email from us to the participant with key takeaways from the training; a transcript of one or several of the video-taped practice-runs; links to the recorded video; and feedback on subsequent changes to the script and outline of a pitch.

How lasting are the effects of the training?
Once participants have experienced the effect of the EBBICS they discovered and practiced (Easy-But-Big-Impact Changes), they will not go back to their old ways. For example, once you understand the impact of sharing personal information about why you care about an issue, you will always include that information in a pitch.

What are the advantages of this unique kind of training?
The three advantages are 1) efficiency, 2) logistical ease, and 3) lasting impact. Since no travel is involved, everyone’s carbon footprint remains smaller, too.

Why is optimizing one’s pitch important for leaders?
Being persuasive is arguably the most important skill for leaders who continuously have to attract support to their cause. Neuroscience has shown that audiences form an opinion within less than a minute of listening, making it even more important to be able to persuade effectively in time-limited situations.

Who is behind Elevator Speech Training?
EST was founded by Marc Fest, a former vice president of communications with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Knight is the world’s leading funder focused on fostering informed and engaged communities.