What's Your Elevator Pitch for Your Story?

Let's imagine we bump into each other in an elevator... how would you tell me your story?

Mar 25, 2025

The classic definition of an elevator pitch is a brief introduction to yourself that you could spew out to a stranger in 30 seconds or less—the time it takes for you to ride in an elevator with someone.

If we met in an elevator, what would you say about yourself? How would you tell me your story before ding! time is up and we’re off to our designated floors?

In my new book, Good (Enough) Mother: Stories and Essays, I experimented with this idea of an elevator pitch to package up my autoimmune diagnosis journey. There are, quite literally, chapters called “The Elevator Pitch.”

There are three different versions of my elevator pitch presented in the book. One has an alternate ending to include depending on the audience where I reveal that a doctor lied about discussing future risks of pregnancy with me. Later, I write a mid-30s edition elevator pitch where I start by saying, “(Life is busy. Let’s cut to the point, Ashley.)” This version ends with a bit of hope:

“…I did give birth to a healthy baby boy when I was 32 years old. Yes, that doctor who told me I couldn’t have a baby, or something like that, was very wrong.”

In the process of writing this book, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to package up my “sickness journey.” Where does the story start? My mom would tell you I choked a lot as a baby and she now suspects my lack of saliva (a hallmark of Sjögren’s) started when I was very young. But for me, the story didn’t start until I was 14 years old and woke up with a fat face.

As I’m starting to appear as a guest on podcasts, I’ve had to once again think about this idea of an elevator pitch. What part of my story do I share? How do I share who I am and what I’m all about in a neat and tidy package? When the host asks about chronic illness, an obvious theme in the book, what story do I tell?

Yesterday, my episode with Stephanie May Wilson went live for the Girls Night Podcast! You can listen to the full episode here. Stephanie asked the most insightful questions and made me feel so comfortable in sharing my story with her and her community.

Here’s a clip of our chat where I shared about my autoimmune diagnosis. As you’ll notice, it took me 7 minutes to tell a fuller version of the story, so we would have taken quite a few rides up and down on that elevator…

I took a big creative risk by including these “Elevator Pitch” chapters in my book. Of course, I wanted to find a clever way to share my story with you—all the various versions of my story, or, more precisely, this one sliver of my story.

So here’s my challenge for you, dear reader: What is your personal elevator pitch? Which sliver of your story would you tell?

And here’s my bigger permission slip for you: Your elevator pitch can—and should—change over time. You are in control of how you tell your story. You can shape it differently as your audience changes, adding and omitting as you go. You can tell a new version as you look back and reflect.