Page 138 - The McKinsey Mind

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PresentingYour Ideas 113

have an elevator ride to get your point across to them. What
are you going to say?” It’s amazing how many successful
people cannot simply focus on two or three key points and
articulate them well.

—Brad Farnsworth, GeoNetServices.com

Throughout my career, the ability to say what I need to say
in a short, sharp sound bite has paid off in many ways. As an
author, I find it essential to getting great media coverage. The
elevator test is simply about sound bites, and it is a great way
to know if your product or idea is compelling enough to
move a person to action. If I fail the elevator test, it not only
says that my communication is not clear, but that the under-
lying issue is perhaps not compelling.

—Deborah Knuckey, author of The MsSpent Money Guide

My board has attention spans similar to the elevator test.
Without it, I would probably be dead!

—An alumnus in academia

Perhaps the best summation of the value of the elevator test
comes from Roger Boisvert of CTR Ventures: “In presenting busi-
nesses, my own especially, if I am not able to do the elevator test,
I shouldn’t be talking with anyone.” If you can’t articulate your
thoughts clearly and concisely, then either you don’t understand
the material well enough and need to get better acquainted with
it, or your structure is not clear and concise enough and needs to
be reexamined.
As you might have guessed by now, we are zealous advocates
of good presentation structure. However, even the best-designed,