In my experience as a coach and consultant, one of the most common areas my clients want guidance on is how to connect with their intended audience more effectively. And quite often, the conversation centers around developing an effective elevator pitch.

The elevator pitch was once considered central to the businessperson’s self-promotion arsenal. The 30-second script was meant to convey one’s skills and competencies in the time it took to complete your average elevator ride.

But therein lies the problem: How can you adequately explain all you have to offer in just 30 seconds? More importantly, how can you explain it the same way, to every person, in any given situation?

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you answered “I can’t” to those questions. And that’s precisely why I’m making the case that the elevator pitch is dead. In most circumstances, it comes off as scripted, unauthentic, and does virtually nothing to differentiate you from others in the same industry or role.

The way we communicate is changing, and it’s time the elevator pitch caught up with the times.

A shifting mindset

For the better part of a decade, I’ve seen a growing importance around the emotional aspects of connecting with our audience. The movement arguably started in 2009 when author Simon Sinek gave his TED talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” about how to communicate in a way that motivates others to act.

Since that time, a generational shift has taken place in the workplace, ushering in a host of changes around human interactions. Just as leadership has graduated from traditional command and control to more transformational and inclusive practices, the way professionals communicate their value is changing.

At the center of that change is a focus on purpose – connecting how and what you do to something larger than your job title or a list of skills. Communicating your purpose is the antithesis of the elevator pitch. It takes time. It takes contemplation. And it must be tailored to each individual and situation.

If that sounds daunting, it needn’t be. To help guide you through the process, following are three steps to help you understand your purpose, engage your audience with authenticity, and create an emotional connection with those you serve.

1. Understand your why

The importance of crafting an elevator pitch is engrained in the DNA of all types of professionals. Case in point: Just recently, I was asked by leaders in my organization to come up with a 90-second pitch describing what I do.

As delicately as possible, I explained why I felt doing so would have minimal impact because this pitch would inevitably sound just like the pitches of thousands of others in the same or similar role. There are over 360,000 registered advisors in the U.S. alone. If you listened to how they describe what they offer, chances are you’d find a great deal of repetition.

Using that reasoning, I was able to steer the individual who made the request away from their original ask and propose a new approach focused on purpose.

If you find yourself in a similar position, I’d encourage you to shift your approach like I did and connect what you do daily to your unique purpose.

Here are some self-exploration questions to help you get started:

– Why do I do what I do?

– What has happened in my personal experience that led me to discover my passion?

– What is unique about the way I interact with and relate to my clients and others around me?

2. Engage with authenticity

 Be honest: When you first crafted your elevator pitch, did you feel it told the story of why you do what you do? Did it resonate emotionally with your audience? Or was it mostly an exercise to have something on hand you could easily rattle off when someone asks what you do?

In his recent book, Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, author Adam Grant identifies three components of building trustworthiness: Putting others’ needs first, knowing your audience, and having the relevant experience.

I think those three concepts are excellent guidelines for differentiating yourself and what you have to offer. Remember, the reason your clients choose to do business with you instead of those other 360,000+ other advisors is that you connected with them through your care, credibility, and familiarity with their situation.

As you think about how you can be more authentic in your interactions with clients and prospects, here are some questions to consider:

– How can I connect how and what I do to the purpose I hold true?

– What can I do to help others understand my values and beliefs as they relate to the services I provide?

– What steps do I need to take to let go of leading with what I do and differentiate my message to match my purpose?

3. Create an emotional connection

This is where defining your purpose and determining how to engage with authenticity converge, allowing you to create an emotional connection with your ideal prospects and clients. And that connection starts with their minds.

The key to creating an emotional connection is to earn the right to access the executive part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, which is where decisions are processed and made – usually within a very short period.

An elevator pitch usually does not accomplish this because your prospects and clients have heard the same script in the past. As a result, they block you from accessing their prefrontal cortex – that is, they disengage and stop listening to what you’re saying – and you fail to make the emotional connection.

If you’d like to delve deeper into the science behind these interactions, Judith Glazer’s Conversational Intelligence is a great resource. She describes the three different levels of conversations, with the highest level being co-creating that emotional connection.

As you strive to reach that level, here are some questions to consider:

– How can I explain what I do by describing the value I provide to clients instead of reciting my resume?

– What stories can I share that demonstrate how I earned the trust of my clients so they could say what they needed to say (not what they wanted someone to hear)?

– How can I prepare myself to be fully present and attentive to the emotional needs of my clients?

When I think about the leaders and teams I work with in this industry, their purpose is so much bigger than most elevator pitches. They create value and wealth for generations of families and have a tremendous impact on the lives and well-being of their clients.

And yet, many of these very talented and dedicated individuals have not taken that critical step of connecting what they do daily to their purpose. At times, this can create a culture of going through the motions or becoming highly transactional, which can lead to burnout, frustration, or a lack of motivation to execute at a high level.

But this is not about ability; it is about reframing our mindset as an industry to evolve to meet the needs of the communities we serve. And I strongly believe that evolution starts with abandoning our standardized scripts and communicating in an authentic way that connects on an emotional level.

One final note: If you haven’t watched Simon Sinek’s TED talk, I highly recommend finding it on YouTube. It will be 18 minutes of your day that could change your life, as well as the lives of your team members and future clients.