Elevator Pitch
...the Valley of Quartz, or is that Silicon Valley?...
If you thought that elevator pitches were the realm of Silicon Valley and hustling entrepreneurs, think again… Writing an elevator pitch is a clarity exercise. For graduate students bent on a writing project the object here is to create an elevator pitch for your topic as a clarity exercise and also to reinforce outlining and critical thinking skills.
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If you had brilliantly relentless clarity on every aspect of your work? You would not be stopping here.
However, for all the rest of us? Stop here. This is not a stage to skip.
How to create the perfect elevator pitch.
You may well have heard of elevator pitches. The idea is that if you had just 30 seconds in an elevator to pitch an investor on a new idea or proposal — what would you say?
The elevator pitch is a catchy way of focusing on the most critical components of what you propose — and creating a pitch that sums it up in a clear, compelling fashion for others.
In the thesis writing context
If you cannot summarize your research problem, your research questions, and your goals as an elevator pitch, there is likely a lack of clarity in your own mind as to what you are trying to accomplish. This lack will impact your writing downstream. Developing elevator pitches is strongly linked to clarity and focus and outlining skills help also.
1. Developing an elevator pitch creates clarity in the mind of the person formulating the proposal as to what, precisely, they are advocating for. Equally, it forces clarity on a doctoral candidate if they have to provide one. 2. Developing an elevator pitch of what your topic is may also help in developing your title if you do not have one for your thesis. One bonus of creating one? You can finally explain what you are doing to all who ask!
There is a second reason this exercise matters more than it used to. If you cannot state your own research problem in plain language in under a minute, you will reach for a machine to state it for you — and that is precisely where drift begins. The pitch you write yourself is the anchor you check every AI-assisted draft against. Without it, you have no fixed point, and no way to notice when a smooth paragraph has quietly stopped being about your actual study.
An extended discussion of what needs to be done, appears on the following page.
The internet is rife with examples for creating elevator pitches usually to either pitch yourself, or a product or, classically, a venture. Here we list some sites providing help and examples. These sites are not in any way affiliated with us nor endorsed by us, we just provide some links for your convenience.
Note that in your case the exercise is to pitch your thesis topic.
Elevator pitch links
Harvard University: How to create an elevator pitch with examples How to give a great elevator pitch with examples
Miscellaneous elevator pitch pages Product How to Create the Perfect Elevator Pitch For Your Product
Assorted topics Elevator Pitch Examples How to Give an Elevator Pitch With Examples Elevator Pitch Examples Templates Elevator Pitch Examples 2 Elevator Pitch Examples Sales
The elevator pitch: clarity, outlining and critical thinking, a real triple-header!
Remember the elevator pitch you are developing is to pitch your thesis topic and possibly research questions supporting it. It is a clarity-creating exercise. The exercise problem is to:
Tip: Developing an elevator pitch of what your topic is may also help in developing your title, if you do not have one yet.
Tip: Remember the elevator pitch you are developing is to pitch your thesis topic, and possibly the research questions supporting it.
Pro Tip: practice your pitch on an AI — but use it correctly.
Do not ask "is this good?" — it will say yes.
Instead, tell it: "You are a skeptical academic from another discipline. I am going to give you my 30-second pitch. Interrogate it. Tell me every point where you do not follow, and every claim you would want defended."
Role-play and stress-testing are legitimate uses. Validation is not.
One of seven pages on planning your dissertation. Browse all 62.
