Explaining Yourself: How to Keep Your OT Elevator Pitch Fresh

Sam Talisman, OTD

When I started OT school, I felt both completely sure and totally unsure about what OT was. I felt like if someone asked me what I was training to do, I could throw together a string of words involving phrases like “activities,” “daily life,” and “function,” and at the end of it, the questioner would say, “okay.” However, I wondered after my explanation what the person was thinking about OT, primarily if they were thinking, “…I still don’t get it.” As I dipped my toes into the murky waters of explaining our profession, I found fellow students, professors, clinicians, and friends with very different opinions on the best way to reach somebody with my elevator pitch.

Occupational therapy is a hard concept to define concisely. Its abstract connections to personal meaning are what make it so essential to provide, and so difficult to describe in a sentence in a way that resonates with everyone. Due to the range of experiences one can have in this profession, OT and OTA students and practitioners often have different opinions on what makes a successful elevator pitch. As diverse as those opinions may be, there are sometimes even larger differences in thoughts about how to handle the inevitable follow-up questions and misunderstandings about occupational therapy. There are an infinite number of questions that can be asked: how (and if) to compare OT to other professions, like physical therapy; if we focus on one body part or on our holistic approach; how our role differs across practice areas, the lifespan, or biopsychosocial factors—the list goes on. The most important aspect of an elevator pitch is that it makes sense to you and your experience, and that it makes sense to the questioner. Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself to make your occupational therapy elevator pitch as successful as possible.

Who am I Talking to?

Being flexible in your elevator pitch is crucial to its effectiveness, and your audience tells you which way to bend. For example, another health care provider who is curious about why OTs are involved in helping a client return to driving a car may be asking because they’re interested in role delineations, compared with a Congressperson who is considering whether to include OT in their community mobility legislation. These motives drive their expectations for your elevator pitch. Furthermore, health care providers and legislators probably have different motives than a friend who is asking about your job to be polite, or a client who does not understand why you are making them put on their pants at 8:00 a.m. Considering factors such as your audience’s experience with professionals in related fields, their patience and level of interest, and why they asked the question will inform how you can best match your response to their needs.

How Much Time do I Have?

The answer to this question may be anchored in real time. Maybe you really are on an elevator, or are about to leave your Uber or Lyft. Your pitch may also depend on your time limit; how long do you have to engage your audience before the conversation changes? If you are talking to an inquisitive friend or a prospective student, you may have enough time to hit several key points of what occupational therapy has to offer. If your friend’s friend asks you at dinner (“I’m an architect. You?”), they may be looking for a shorter explanation. If you match their pace of conversation, they may be willing to ask more!

What Should my Scope be?

The expansive world of occupational therapy may be hard to capture in a brief blurb, so think about what parts of the profession you want the person to understand. If the person wants an overview of the profession, a general explanation may be a good fit. On the other hand, if a distressed client in a hospital just wants to go home and does not want more therapy, focusing on occupational therapy’s role in determining home safety may be a good decision. Likewise, that person may be less interested in learning about hippotherapy at that moment. (But look for pictures of horses in their room, just in case.)

How Much Does This Connect With Me?

Every time you give your elevator pitch, you become the primary representative of occupational therapy in that moment. The content of your elevator pitch is a reflection of you and your relationship with the profession. Even when you may feel like you need to check specific points to communicate with your audience, let your passion shine through and find ideas that most connect with what occupational therapy means to you. The other person has the highest likelihood of believing what you say if you believe it, too!

Summary

Your answers to the above questions can shape your elevator pitch for a dynamic, meaningful response to the question, “what is OT?” Ultimately, how you create your elevator pitch is related to one big question: “What are the goals for this conversation?” Unfortunately, the need to narrow your definition of OT does not disappear after you enter practice. As with any client you may work with, setting goals realistically and collaboratively increases the odds that you achieve them. If you can make your discussion time appropriate, content appropriate, and meaningful to you and the person asking about OT, you have the best chance of helping another person understand the value of our wonderful profession!

Sam Talisman, OTD, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2017. After completing a neurology fellowship across acute, inpatient, and academic settings, he is currently working in an outpatient neurology clinic in Washington, DC. He is still giving at least one OT elevator pitch every day.