If someone asked you what your organisation was trying to achieve could you summarise it in the time it takes to go down a few floors in a lift – without being trite or bland?

That’s the Lift Speech Challenge, a device designed to force us to focus on the core value proposition that drives our organisation. And they’re not easy to deliver.

There are three main obstacles in delivering a brilliant Lift Speech.

One: avoid clichés such as “we’re here to make a difference”. Phrases such as that beg further questions: what kind of difference and to whom? And, how would they know?

Two: to capture the core of your offer. It’s easy to focus on the bits of what you do, whilst missing the bigger picture. What does it boil down to?

Three: focusing on the benefits to the customers, one of whom may be listening to you as you speak. For it’s not what you do that matters to your customers – it’s what you do to improve their lives, what you do that matters to them.

You might think this a fatuous exercise but asking your staff to be able to do a lift speech about their services can help them to focus on the value that they bring to their customers.

The Lift Speech can be an efficient way to ensure that customers are kept front and centre in your organisation’s collective mind.

The more engaging the lift speech, the more focused your offer, the better your customer and service user experience could be.

So could you do one this morning? And if you stopped any member of staff in the corridor – or even asked them in the lift – could they?

Sometimes, there’s only one way to find out.

Ask them.