An explain article

Elevator with brake

It is autumn in the year 1853 around New York. An American craftsman named Elisha Otis is looking for a suitable stage to present his invention, which solves what was probably the greatest technical problem of the time. Many buildings in the USA already have elevators. However, the mechanics controlling these elevators were still in the state of Archimedes' time. A thick rope pulls the shaft with people up or lets it down. This works well until the rope eventually breaks and destroys the shaft along with its contents.

Otis has now found a way to solve this problem by inventing a kind of brake that can prevent the crash. The benefit of his invention is clear: it helps save money and, more importantly, saves lives. However, Otis faces a skeptical and fearful public.

He rents the central exhibition hall of the NYC trade center and builds an elevator in it. In the presence of many people, he rides the elevator up, takes a knife, and cuts the rope holding the elevator. The crowd holds their breath as the elevator rushes down. The safety brake engages, stops the fall, and Otis says: "All safe, gentlemen. All safe."

Elevator-Pitch

This story shows a simple and effective way to present a complex idea in an understandable way. By the way, it was the first elevator pitch—in the truest sense of the word. An elevator pitch is about convincing others of an idea in the shortest possible time. It can be just seconds. This is what makes it so difficult, as it’s about clearly communicating the benefit for the other party. And everything that piques interest is allowed.

#01

Otis does not talk about product features but vividly explains the benefit. The question here is always what changes for the other person.

#02

Otis has a clear goal for his presentation. He wants to arouse interest and show that taking the elevator is safe. He is not about selling elevators but about conveying safety.

#03

Otis has a clear core message and builds everything around it: "All safe, gentlemen. All safe."

A successful pitch still contains these elements today: a clear core message, a specific goal, and communication of benefits. Additionally, it is different and unexpected.

Pitch without slides

Many people today cling to slides even for short pitches. However, this is rather counterproductive and leads to communicating too much content. Would Elisha Otis have had the same success with PowerPoint slides? Certainly not. Would he have had the same success if he had explained the materials used or technical plans to the people beforehand? Never.

Focusing on the essentials makes a pitch lively. You don’t need slides for this, but rather creativity, courage, doing things differently, and trust in yourself and your idea. It already starts with surprising your audience by not using slides at first. Involving others and reaching them emotionally can be achieved much better with a demonstration, for example.

Incidentally, many elevators worldwide have the label "OTIS" in the cabin. This shows that the pitch in its form then has an impact to this day and was extremely successful. The Otis Elevator Company is now the largest producer of elevator systems worldwide…