Speaking briefly and to the point was once valued mainly in business. If you were a startup founder, you had just 90 seconds while an elevator carried an investor to the right floor. That is how the Elevator Pitch format was born — a fast oral presentation in which the goal is not to “say everything,” but to say the main thing.
Today, this approach is in demand not only in startups. Scientists, engineers, teachers, and students are increasingly working on the skill of concise speech. Elevator Pitch develops logical thinking, clarity of speech, and social skills at the same time. In education, it is valued because it makes students do more than repeat memorized material: they have to formulate key ideas consciously. It also builds confidence and helps people cope with the fear of public speaking.
A striking experiment was conducted at MIPT: engineering students were divided into two groups. One followed the standard program, while the other studied with methods that included Elevator Pitch elements — role-playing, mini-presentations, and oral retellings of scientific texts. As a result, achievement in the experimental group increased by 1.5–1.7 times.
With the arrival of high-speed elevators, the task has become more difficult: now you have not a minute and a half, but thirty seconds at most. And that makes the art of brevity even more valuable!
