Maybe the Elevator Was the Problem All Along

Liminal Co-Founder, Todd Hiestand, tells a story about a friend who found a way to make riding an elevator with strangers even more awkward than it already is.

In his book, The Welcoming Nonprofit, he shares how he and his friend would be in a crowded elevator, and right before they arrived at their floor, his friend would turn around… face everyone… and ask, “So what do you guys want to talk about?”

Then the doors would open. “Aw, man, this is our floor. Great meeting you all!”

Todd says the faces were a mix of surprise and discomfort. Because nobody is looking to have an actual conversation in an elevator.

Which makes me wonder why an elevator was ever chosen as the metaphor for an opportunity to tell people about our work.

Todd writes: “This might sound like marketing heresy, but the elevator pitch is not a good starting point for explaining what your organization does.”

I think he’s right. I would even go so far as to say that the days of the elevator pitch are over.

Or, at minimum, we need to rethink its place in our messaging.

In almost every case, people will give you about 10 seconds to share what your organization does. Almost nobody is ready for thirty seconds of information the first time they ask what you do.

But we all love our work so much, and we’re “in it” every day, we tend to share more information with people than they can process. We talk about our programs, our model, the problem we’re solving… and even how it all got started.

As we all learned from Kimberly “Sweet Brown” Wilkins, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

In The Welcoming Nonprofit, Todd lays out a framework for what he calls “four spaces of engagement”:

1. The Sidewalk
2. The Front Porch
3. The Living Room
4. The Kitchen Table

On the “Sidewalk,” we have about 10 seconds to capture people’s attention. One sentence. That’s it.

The “Front Porch” is probably where the old elevator pitch lives. Someone showed interest, so now there’s room for a minute or two… what you do, who it’s for, and why it matters.

In the “Living Room,” we tell stories about how our programs are impacting lives in our communities. This is where people stop just being informed about the work and start feeling connected to it.

And at the “Kitchen Table,” we’re going over impact reports, budgets, and discussing challenges we’re facing. This space is reserved for the people who are most invested… board members, major donors, longtime partners. They’ve earned the honest version, and they usually respect it more than the polished one.

But, all too often, we default to Living Room and Kitchen Table information on the Sidewalk and the Front Porch.

And most people can’t carry all of that in a first conversation. Nor should we ask them to.

Todd refers to the Sidewalk Statement as one simple sentence.

For Liminal, it is: “We’re a branding agency that works with nonprofits.”

It lets people off the hook if they’re not interested. And honestly, that’s a gift. The energy you save on someone who was never interested… that’s energy you can invest in the next person who says, “Tell me more.”

Then you invite them up to the Front Porch. That’s where the real conversation starts.

If you want to test your own Sidewalk Statement, there’s a simple way, straight from the book. Say it out loud to someone who doesn’t know your organization. Not a board member or a colleague… a neighbor, a friend, the parent next to you at a game. If it sparks a question, it’s working. If you get a polite nod and a change of subject, keep working on it.

This is a lot of what we do at Liminal… helping nonprofits figure out what belongs in which space, and finding the words for each one. If your team can’t share what your organization does in one sentence, we’d love to help you.

And next time you find yourself on an actual elevator… it’s probably best to just smile and nod at your fellow passengers.