Version Compatibility

Reference framework authored 2026-06 from a synthesis of public sources. No code dependencies. Update when:

• A peer-reviewed update to the Alda Center's improvisation framework is published
• NIH Plain Language guidelines issue a major revision
• The PARS frame is replaced or extended in a public communication standard

If audience profile, time, or venue constraints differ from the defaults, scale the time allocation but keep the four-move structure (Problem, Approach, Result, So-What).

Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is the most concentrated form of scientific communication: in 30 to 120 seconds, the speaker must convey a research project, a research program, or a research career to a listener who has no background in the field and no obligation to keep listening. The pitch succeeds when the listener can repeat the problem and the result in one sentence; it fails when the listener walks away remembering a technique ("they do CRISPR") but not a question ("they want to know why some patients resist therapy").

The skill encodes the structural moves that work across all three standard durations, the rhetorical discipline that keeps the message sharp, and the failure modes that turn pitches into jargon dumps.

The Four-Move PARS Frame

Every elevator pitch has four moves, regardless of duration. Each move has a specific function; the time spent on each move scales with the total duration.

The four moves fit within a single breath at 30 seconds, two breaths at 60 seconds, and a single paragraph at 2 minutes. The temptation is to spend all the time on Approach (the technique the researcher loves); the rule is that Approach is at most one quarter of the total time. The result and the implication are the contract with the listener.

The 30-Second Pitch

A 30-second pitch is the answer to "What do you do?" in a hallway. The listener has not asked for detail; the speaker's job is to make them want to ask the second question.

Template

"I'm a [role] studying [problem]. We use [approach] to find out [result]. The reason it matters is [so-what]."

Worked Example (Cancer Biology)

"I'm a postdoc studying why some glioblastoma patients don't respond to chemotherapy. We look at the chemical tags on the RNA in resistant tumors, and we found that a specific enzyme, METTL3, is overactive in resistant cells. The reason it matters is that drugs blocking this enzyme already exist, and they might reverse resistance in patients who currently have no options."

Sentence count: 4. Word count: 70. Duration: 28-30 seconds at 2.5 words/second. The four moves are visible; the listener can repeat the result and the implication.

Stress-Position Test

Apply Gopen & Swan's stress-position principle: the new information goes at the end of the sentence. In the worked example, the new information in the Approach sentence is "METTL3" — it lands at the end. The new information in the Result sentence is "already exist" — it lands at the end. The listener's ear catches the stress position; the stress position carries the meaning.

The 60-Second Pitch

A 60-second pitch is the answer to "Tell me about your research" at a conference mixer. The listener has asked for detail; the speaker's job is to give one layer of depth beyond the 30-second version.

Template

"I'm a [role] working on [problem]. [Two sentences: why the problem matters now, why a non-specialist should care.] We use [approach] to [result-in-approach-language]. We found that [result-in-result-language]. The reason it matters is [implication]: [one specific next step]."

Worked Example (Same Project)

"I'm a postdoc working on why some glioblastoma patients don't respond to chemotherapy. Glioblastoma is a fast-growing brain cancer, and survival has not improved in 20 years. Resistance to the standard drug, temozolomide, is the main reason — most patients respond at first, then relapse.

We use a technique that maps chemical modifications on RNA, focusing on the m6A modification, to ask whether the RNA in resistant tumors is marked differently. We found that a specific enzyme that adds m6A marks, called METTL3, is overactive in resistant tumors.

The reason it matters is twofold: first, this gives doctors a way to predict which patients will respond to temozolomide. Second, drugs that block METTL3 are already in clinical trials for other diseases, and we can test whether they reverse temozolomide resistance in glioblastoma."

Sentence count: 9. Word count: 150. Duration: 60 seconds at 2.5 words/second. The 60-second version adds two sentences to each of the four moves: a second sentence on why the problem matters, and a second sentence on the implication. The result is sharper because the listener has heard the result once in the 30-second version and again in specific terms here.

The 2-Minute Pitch

A 2-minute pitch is the answer to "Tell me more" or the speaker's turn in a panel or job-talk elevator. The listener is engaged and wants depth.

Template

"I'm a [role] working on [problem]. [Three to four sentences: the gap, why it matters now, what the field has tried and failed.]

The approach we use is [approach], and the key insight is [insight-that-makes-approach-possible]. [Two sentences: what we did, what we measured.]

We found that [result-in-result-language]. [Two sentences: validation, mechanism, or generalization.]

The implication is [implication]: [one sentence on what the result changes], [one sentence on the next step], [one sentence on the broader consequence]."

Worked Example (Same Project)

"I'm a postdoc working on why some glioblastoma patients don't respond to chemotherapy. Glioblastoma is a fast-growing brain cancer, and median survival is 15 months. The standard drug, temozolomide, works at first in most patients, but the cancer almost always comes back. The field has tried combinations with radiation, with other chemotherapies, and with anti-angiogenics; none of these have meaningfully extended survival. The bottleneck is acquired resistance, and the mechanism is not known.

The approach we use is m6A-sequencing, which maps a specific chemical modification, m6A, on every RNA in the cell. The key insight is that m6A is dynamic — it goes up and down in response to stress — and we asked whether temozolomide treatment changes the m6A pattern in glioblastoma cells. We compared m6A patterns in patient-derived xenografts that responded to temozolomide and in xenografts that relapsed, and we found one modification site that was enriched in the relapse group: an m6A mark on the mRNA for the oncogene MYC.

We found that the enzyme that adds this m6A mark, METTL3, is required for temozolomide resistance: when we knocked down METTL3 in resistant cells, the cells became sensitive to temozolomide. We then used a small-molecule METTL3 inhibitor in mice bearing resistant tumors, and the inhibitor restored temozolomide sensitivity.

The implication is that METTL3 is a candidate target for combination therapy in glioblastoma. The next step is a phase 0 trial combining a METTL3 inhibitor with temozolomide in biomarker-enriched patients. The broader consequence is that this approach — mapping RNA modifications in patient samples and finding druggable dependencies — is generalizable to other solid tumors with acquired resistance."

Sentence count: 18. Word count: 360. Duration: 2 minutes at 3 words/second. The 2-minute version expands each move to 3-4 sentences. The expansion follows the same hierarchy: Problem (why this matters) takes 4 sentences, Approach takes 4, Result takes 4, Implication takes 6. The shift toward implication is deliberate: at 2 minutes, the listener is engaged and the speaker is selling the future, not the past.

Plain-Language Discipline

NIH Plain Language guidelines require that the audience's comprehension is the speaker's responsibility. Apply four rules.

1. One technical term, defined once. Define the term the first time you use it; do not alternate between technical and plain.

   "METTL3 — that's the enzyme that adds m6A marks to RNA. From here on, just METTL3."

2. Quantify, do not generalize. "About 30%" beats "many." "15-month median survival" beats "poor prognosis." Numbers anchor abstract claims.

3. Use the active voice. "We found that..." beats "It was found that..." Active voice puts the speaker in the story; passive voice puts the speaker in a journal.

4. One idea per sentence. Two-clause sentences lose half the listener. If the sentence has a comma in the middle, split it.

The Alda Center's Improvisation Discipline

The Alda Center for Communicating Science teaches that the best scientific communication happens when the speaker is present, not performing. Apply three rules.

1. Make eye contact with one person, not the room. In a hallway, the listener is one person. Look at them. If the listener is a group, pick one face and address that face.
2. Notice the listener's face. If the listener's eyes glaze at "m6A-sequencing," the next sentence should be in plain words. The pitch is a dialogue, not a monologue.
3. End on a question, not a statement. "What I'd love to know is whether the same mechanism applies in your disease model" is a question that invites the listener into the next step. "Thanks for listening" is a statement that ends the conversation.

The Three-Listener Test

A pitch that lands on a non-scientist may not land on a specialist. Test the pitch against three listener profiles.

1. The undergraduate. Can they repeat the problem and the result? If not, the pitch is too technical.
2. The colleague in another field. Can they repeat the problem, the result, and the implication? If not, the result or the implication is buried.
3. The colleague in the same field. Can they repeat the result in technical terms? If not, the pitch has been over-simplified for the wrong audience.

A pitch for a job talk to specialists in the same field is closer to a 60-second pitch than a 30-second pitch; a pitch for a coffee conversation with a non-scientist is closer to a 30-second pitch. The structure is the same; the language shifts.

The Anti-Pattern: The Technique Pitch

The most common failure mode is the technique pitch: the speaker describes what they do, not what they found.

Bad: "I work on RNA modifications. I use m6A-sequencing to map modifications in patient samples. The technique combines immunoprecipitation with next-generation sequencing."

This pitch describes the approach but no problem, no result, no implication. The listener walks away with a technique. The pitch has failed.

Good: "I work on why some glioblastoma patients don't respond to chemotherapy. We found that a chemical modification on the RNA of an oncogene drives resistance, and a drug that blocks the modification reverses resistance in mice."

This pitch describes the problem, the result, and the implication; the technique is implicit in the second sentence. The listener walks away with a result and an implication. The pitch has succeeded.

The anti-pattern is not the only anti-pattern. Three others.

Crafting the Question Hook

The most effective pitch ends on a question. The question is not rhetorical; it is an invitation to the listener to think about the problem from their own perspective. Three forms of question hook.

1. The generalization hook. "We see this in glioblastoma. Do you think the same mechanism could apply in [listener's disease]?"
2. The implication hook. "If this is right, then METTL3 inhibitors could be tested in clinical trials. What would be the right biomarker?"
3. The collaboration hook. "We're now looking at patient samples. Do you know of a cohort where we could test this?"

The listener's response to the question hook is the test of the pitch. If the listener has a follow-up question, the pitch has succeeded. If the listener has no follow-up question, the pitch has not.

Common Failure Modes

A Rehearsal Protocol

A pitch that has not been rehearsed out loud is a draft. Rehearse in three passes.

1. Pass 1: Alone with a timer. Time the pitch at 30s, 60s, 2min. If 60s runs over by 30 seconds, cut. If 30s runs under by 10 seconds, add.
2. Pass 2: With one labmate. Watch the labmate's face. If the labmate's eyes glaze at sentence 2, the second sentence is jargon. Rewrite sentence 2.
3. Pass 3: With a non-specialist. A friend from another field, an undergraduate, a relative. If they cannot repeat the result in one sentence, the result is buried. Rewrite the result sentence.

A pitch rehearsed in this cadence takes 2-3 hours from first draft to delivery. A pitch that has not been rehearsed is a draft, and drafts do not land.

A Three-Pitch Toolkit

A researcher who attends conferences should have three pitches in their back pocket, one for each duration.

Practice the 30-second pitch first; the other two are expansions of the 30-second version, not separate compositions.

References

• Alda Center for Communicating Science — improvisation, clarity, present-moment speaking.
• AAAS Communication Toolkit — elevator pitch worksheet, audience profiles.
• NIH Plain Language guidelines — jargon discipline, quantified claims.
• Gopen & Swan, "The Science of Scientific Writing" — stress position, applied to spoken register.
• Loui & Smith, "Talk to the audience" — engagement, signposting, audience next-question.
• Anderson, The Way We're Working Isn't Working — TED principles applied to science: the talk as a one-idea transmission; the question hook.

Related Skills

• scientific-communication/conference-talk — long-form version of the same message.
• scientific-communication/poster — visual version of the same message.
• scientific-communication/press-release — general-audience version of the same message.
• scientific-communication/podcast — long-form spoken version for a general audience.