Business coaches have a simple rule that helps aspiring entrepreneurs fine-tune their pitches. It’s called the elevator test. Let’s suppose that one fine day you walk into an elevator and you find yourself standing next to Bill Gates. He happens to be thinking about funding a new venture but is having difficulty finding the right idea and the right guy. You have this golden opportunity before you to pitch your innovative idea. The catch, however, is that Bill Gates is a busy man. He runs one of the world’s largest technology companies and has better things to do than spend his afternoon chatting with a stranger. All you have is twenty or thirty seconds, the duration of your elevator ride, to pitch your idea. No more. No less. This is the scenario a business coach will often present you with. If you want your pitch to be heard, if you want it to have mileage, it must pass the elevator test.

But how do pass the elevator test? Business plans are often massive documents that detail everything from the product specification to supply chain management to marketing. How do you condense scores of pages into a twenty-second pitch? What should go into your pitch? What shouldn’t go into the pitch? The answer to these questions is simple: only put in the bare essentials, nothing more. Bill Gates does not want to hear about the significance of the colors in your logo. He wants to know, without the nonsense, how much it will cost, how much it is expected to earn, how your product or service is different and why you think it will work. When working on a good pitch, therefore, what you put in is less important than what you leave out. You needn’t burden your listener with unnecessary details. Give him the crux of the idea. If it’s a good one, it’ll fly.

Once you have figured out what you are going to put into the pitch and, more importantly, what you are going to leave out, it is time to polish your idea and work on your delivery. A good way to start is by asking a question. Grab your listener’s intellectual attention. By asking a question, you immediately involve your listener into your conversation, even if the question is rhetorical. Everyone loves numbers so if you have any to back up your point, have them ready. Do not, however, overload your pitch with unnecessary numbers. Have them at hand, nonetheless, lest you are asked to clarify your point. Make sure your pitch includes a unique selling point, an aspect of your idea that sets it apart from the competition. If the listener is someone who has the financial capability to finance your project, he or she will want to know, off the bat, how much it will cost so make sure that you are clear about that in your pitch as well. Lastly, always do a pitch with an attitude of humility. Nothing is more repelling than a man with an attitude. You might have a good idea but no will bother looking past your arrogance so make sure you keep your attitude in check.