If you’re in the business world, you know you need an “elevator pitch.”
It’s a necessary social convention where strangers meet and briefly explain to each other who they are and what they do.
The elevator pitch got me thinking about how inept we are when it comes to explaining the deeper parts of ourselves.
If I had to ask my brain to explain itself what would it say?
Most explanations would rely on its basic aspects – size, composition, division of parts, functions, and relationships to other parts of the body.
But, if my brain was looking for a good elevator pitch what would it be?
So, I thought I have some fun figuring out an elevator pitch for my brain.
Hi, I’m Joyce’s brain, a complex organ, living inside her protective skull. I operate through a feedback loop to supervise and coordinate a vast electro-chemical network. I’m responsible for maintaining and coordinating structural function, internal network communication, an energy delivery system, and physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and sensory integration. As well as, detecting invasion, modulating pain, and monitoring performance capacity during the sleep/wake cycle. My role is to keep this entity alive for as long as possible.
A good elevator pitch should also be memorable. Click To TweetIf you were to meet me and my brain in an elevator and got this pitch, your eyes would definitely glaze over. That’s the problem with an elevator pitch. We want to make sure we get out all the important information about ourselves, and we miss the opportunity to express what’s memorable about us.
Here’s a revised version directly from Joyce’s brain.
Hi, I’m Joyce’s brain and she comes with Gemini programming making my job twice as difficult. However, part of my job is to run a demanding communication system linking creative thoughts with analytical problem-solving solutions. Meditation has been an upgrade to the neural network, and yoga is being introduced to improve body capacity. The projection is for a long- term working relationship with all of her parts.
Let your brain run wild. Allow it to create an elevator pitch of its own and discover what it says about you. Maybe there’s something you can add to your business elevator pitch that will make you more memorable.
Now you try it. What would your brain’s elevator pitch be?
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain
Image: By Another Believer (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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Uh, oh, I’m gonna have to make my brain think about this one! I’m sure I’ll wake up in the middle of the night with the perfect pitch!
True, sometimes your best ideas come in the middle of the night. I’m sure you’ve got pen and paper ready to write them down.
Cool…for me for the moment it seems ro be all about wine…even when I talk about my translation business I end up talking wine as most people have a wine story to share. ?
Then wine it is, Katarina. Is there a wine your brain likes more than others?
My brain would probably say that I am being pushed to the limit. I am trying to keep up, but am tired and need a rest. What a fun post.
Well, obviously your brain is giving you good advice. Remember that you need it for the long haul, and a little R&R may be in order.
Love this! And as a fellow Gemini love that description. I work with my career coaching clients on elevator pitches and they have a hard time being interesting. maybe this is a good exercise to get them started and loosen up a bit. Very creative. Thanks.
It seems the post has generated a lot of interest as a writing exercise. I’m all for whatever works to get them thinking and opening up to new ways of describing themselves.
Hi Joyce 🙂
What a great post! This is something I definitely need to think about for me…..thanks for sharing this awesome idea 😉
Glad you liked the post. As we say, thinking is always good. Let it fun a little wild and see where it takes you.
I’m a writer. I’m also a nurse. Maybe my elevator speech could be that I’m writing: “The brain. (A user’s manual).”
Sounds like a good project. And, it will probably keep you busy for quite a while.
I think, like in biz, too many people get accustomed to a standard dry elevator speech and we need to find an out of the box approach… and this is a great example. thanks
I’m sure yours will be out-of-the-box. We all need to shake things up a bit.
What a wonderful creative idea to learn about being concise, specific and entertaining all at once in a short elevator speech! Love it – will incorporate it into my coaching 🙂 And here is my3 sec improvisation: “Millen’s brain is a very busy element of her body which generates ideas with almost every breath, runs overtime, and gets overheated when multiple exciting ideas get generated simultaneously.” 🙂 Thank you for a fun moment, Joyce!
Yes, definitely a creative brain brimming with ideas. I found that meditation helps to slow it down so I have time to process and act on all those good ideas.
Haha! Loved your second version. I’ll have to try that, remembering that people (meaning me, in this case) tune out after about 18 seconds! Good stuff.
I have the same problem, by the time they are through with their elevator pitch, I can’t remember their name. And, I hate that it’s so rote sounding. I want an introduction to be a jumping off point to a real conversation.
I had to read your post twice because it really got me to thinking, so I definitely agree this would be an excellent writing exercise. Not one I’m willing to undertake at the moment since I already have a day of writing ahead of me, but I made a note of it in my journal to give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
I’m flattered that you read the post twice, Marquita. It certainly opens the door to all sorts of possibilities.
What a delightful woman you are and with such interesting ideas! Now it would depend of what part of my brain we are asking for the elevator pitch – the conscious or subconscious? There are 2 different answers being generated and one is living out what the other one has been programmed to believe and there is no guarantee either are true, right or not! 🙂
Well, ideally the subconscious would be the best source because it’s the repository of all the information. While there is a part that retrieves information formulated into preferences and habits, the brain still has to connect the dots when it comes to responding to new thoughts and ideas it’s never had to consider before. So, it makes for an interesting life since truth is always relative as to where the brain is at any given moment in time.
What an intriguing idea for a post – loved it. My bain’s pitch would probably be something like; “I work overtime to make Tami listen to me and not give in to a bunch of emotions threatening to push me out of office”. Lol
Sounds like your brain knows you well when it comes to work.
Love this take on the elevator speech! It’s going to take me a bit to come up with one for my brain but it sounds like fun.
We work our brains hard, so taking time out for fun will serve the both of you well.
Thanks to your brain’s elevator pitch Joyce, I now know you are a fellow air sign, a Gemini. Very key for someone like me who sees the world through the astrology lens. There is so much new research about the brain that knowing what I know, I might not actually focus on a pitch for my brain, but more for the “brain in my heart”, as that is the organ that is actually driving the show.
I have a challenge with producing only a few words, so an elevator pitch for any part of me is a challenge. That’s one of the reasons I love Twitter. It is teaching me how to say what I have to say in only 140 characters. Here’s to short concise elevator pitches that say all we have to say.
The heart has been side-tracked since most of the research has been focused on the brain. I know that you know about the HeartMath people, and how the heart puts out far more energy than the brain. And, that will be the next level of understanding, how the both are connected and the etheric energy of the heart. Also, agree on learning brevity and meaning in 140 characters – a challenge for Geminis.
What a GREAT exercise – to create an interesting and engaging elevator speech for oneself!! I may try this for my next writing workshop, I think my students would have fun with this – thx!
Great idea for writing exercise Kimba. I’m sure your students will at first be perplexed, but it will be a great way to stretch their brains and their imaginations.
Clever idea, Joyce. I always had issues making an elevator pitch for my business so making one for my brain will be even harder. I guess I would start out and say, ” Hi I’m Sabrina’s brain. I simplify processes so to reduce stress on Sabrina. Relaxation and functionality are my mottoes. ” LOL. How’s that?
I love that your brain has mottoes. Who would have thought? Keep up the great brain work Sabrina.
Joyce, I LOVE your description of your brain, because believe it or not, I now have a better understanding of you. It even endears you more to me than before. We do write elevator intros, often can describe our personalities in terms of standard factors, we can describe ourselves physically, but our brain? I’m not going to write my brains description just yet cause I want it to be witty, creative, smart, also inclusive of my Gemini birth and my longevity. Oh & wisdom.
Ah… another Gemini. Well, obviously your brain has been doing a great job of taking care of you. However, sometimes it’s a good idea to let the brain run wild, because all sorts of good stuff has been cooped up for too long.