Art of the Elevator Pitch

1. Art of the Elevator Pitch A webinar presented to Roadmaps to Health February 22, 2012

2. Before we get started… • To access the AUDIO portion of this broadcast, please be sure to call the phone number and note the access code in your email. • Please note that if you continue to experience audio or website challenges, it may be due to organizational firewalls, which we cannot change in this broadcast. • Ensure that your phone is on MUTE, not HOLD • We will keep lines muted during the presentation, but your questions can be submitted anytime via the “Questions”function during this broadcast. • Following our broadcast, we encourage you to try out the 27-9-3 rule for yourselves and we’re happy to give you feedback on your creation. Simply visit: http://www.powerprism.org/research-data-collection.htm

3. Welcome Webinar introduction Community Catalyst

4. Presenters Lori Fresina & Diane Pickles M+R Strategic Services www.mrss.com Special guest David Liners WISDOM – Roadmaps grantee

5. What is an “elevator pitch”?

6. Ever feel like your audience just wants out??

7. Before you begin crafting your message Answer these 5 questions

8. Crafting your message – Q1 • Who is the audience for this particular message? • For example, a lawmaker, volunteer, prospective advocate, donor, colleague from different department, parent, school superintendent, reporter, etc.

9. Crafting your message – Q2 • What might appeal to their direct self-interest? • What’s in it for them? • Why should they care?

10. Crafting your message – Q3 • What do you want your audience to think or understand about your issue?

11. Crafting your message – Q4 • How do you want them to feel about what you have said?

12. Crafting your message – Q5 • What do you want them to do after they hear your message?

13. And now for the creative part…

14. 27-9-3 Rule • 27 words • 9 seconds • Up to 3 points

15. Example – Project Description “Resources have been invested in re-entry with mixed outcomes. Worcester Initiative for Supported Re-entry will coordinate pathways to productivity and crime prevention.”

16. Example – Personal Story “Cardiac arrest kills 250,000 people yearly. In 2001, one of these people was my husband Joel. If an AED had been available, it could have saved his life.”

17. Example – Policy Ask “Adolescence is hard, but can be twice as challenging for teens with special needs.  Targeted funding helps our state’s 39,000 special education students meet their full potential.”

18. Example - Personal Story “My son has had 3 open heart surgeries. Despite having health insurance, our family has suffered significant medical debt from high premiums, deductibles, and co-pays.”

19. A Roadmaps example • David Liners, WISDOM - Putting the 27-9-3 Rule to the test: • At the January 19-20, 2012 WISDOM Leadership Retreat, we were challenged to summarize our reasons for supporting the 11X15 campaign in a very concise manner. We were told to consider: • Our own interests and passions; • What we believe to be the interests of the people we are addressing; • What we want the other person to feel; • What we want the other person to do. • 32 messages now live in a WISDOM message bank – here are a few…

20. WISDOM’s 27-9-3 results • (to a formerly incarcerated person) “The current justice system is ineffective and inhumane. WISDOM can change it. Join us and share your story; people will listen to you.” • (as a start to a letter to the editor) “Almost everyone in our jails and prisons will return to our community. Do you want them prepared to be a better neighbor or a bigger problem?” • “Senator, we have more than 20,000 inmates, costing over $1.3 billion, for mostly non-violent offenses. 11X15 could cut those numbers in half. It needs to be done.”

21. WISDOM’s 27-9-3 results • (as an invitation to join the Task Force) “Help us make our community safer by getting people the treatment they need, instead of giving them time – time to just get worse.” • (to a fellow clergy person) “Join me in awakening this state from the fear and ignorance that moves us to punish people with prison instead of extending a hand of healing.” • (to a potential donor) “Please join WISDOM in ending the inefficiency and inhumanity of incarcerating addicted and mentally ill people. Your donation will help us share this vital message.”

22. WISDOM’s 27-9-3 results • “Middle-class people with drug problems or mental health issues can get treatment. Poor people and black people with the same issues go to prison. We can change that.” • (to a prospective volunteer) “WISDOM is seeking to lower our prison population by providing treatment for non-violent offenders, restoring their dignity. Are you willing to help us accomplish this goal?” • “We recycle to improve our environment, but we throw people away in prisons. That is unacceptable. We need to help people be rehabilitated and get them back in the community.”

23. Lessons learned • What was the 27-9-3 process like for WISDOM? • How did this exercise stimulate conversation and get people to shift their focus to developing messages that are focused on decision-makers?

24. Try it yourself! http://www.powerprism.org/research-data-collection.htm The Roadmaps TA is happy to give you feedback on your messages if you will out the 27-9-3 web form and click submit.

25. Thank you! Closing remarks Community Catalyst