The Pitch That Tightens Every Shoulder in the Room
Most people hear the words "elevator pitch" and immediately tense up. They start running through their resume in their head, trying to figure out what to say, how much to say, and whether any of it sounds impressive enough. Then the moment comes, someone asks "so, tell me about yourself," and they either ramble through a laundry list of job titles or freeze and say almost nothing at all.
Eloïse Eonnet has spent nearly 15 years helping leaders break through exactly this problem. She is the founder of Eloquence, a communication coaching practice she launched in 2011, and Director of Coach Connect at The Muse. Franco-American by background, Eloïse grew up outside Paris before moving to New York to attend Barnard College and now splits her time between both cities. Her coaching spans tech, healthcare, finance, startups, education, and nonprofits, and her focus is always the same: helping leaders communicate with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
On this episode of the Speak Arizona Podcast, Eloïse joined host Rupesh Parbhoo and co-host Tatum O'Kennedy for a conversation that went far beyond tips and templates. Tatum, a Senior Solutions Consultant at Seeq with more than eight years of experience helping pharmaceutical teams turn complex data into actionable insights, brought her own elevator pitch to the table for a live coaching workshop. The result was one of the most practical and immediately useful episodes the podcast has produced.
It's Just a Conversation Starter
The first thing Eloïse does is take the pressure off. An elevator pitch is not a performance. It's not a speech. It's the beginning of a conversation.
That reframe changes everything. When people think of their elevator pitch as something they need to deliver perfectly, they overthink it, over-prepare it, and end up sounding rehearsed or robotic. When they think of it as a conversation starter, they naturally relax into something much more human.
Eloïse puts it simply. Your pitch should be short enough that when you walk out of the elevator with someone, they want to keep talking to you. It's the appetizer, not the main course. You don't need to say everything. You need to say enough to spark interest and open a door.
A Framework That Actually Works
Eloïse shared a framework built around four elements that give structure without making the pitch feel scripted.
1. The headline. One sentence that captures the larger picture of who you are in your career. Not your job title. Not your current company. Something bigger. Phrases like "I've built my career on" or "over the past ten years, I've focused on" help frame this as a narrative rather than a label.
2. Credibility. One or two concrete things you've done that led you to where you are today. Not a full history. Not every job. Just enough to show the person in front of you that you've been in the arena.
3. Purpose. Why you do what you do. This is the part most people skip, and Eloïse says it's the most powerful conversation starter of them all. When you can articulate the impact you want to have, people lean in.
4. The handoff. You give the mic back. You say something like "I'm really looking forward to learning more about your work" or "I'd love to hear how this connects to what your team is building." This is what makes it a conversation instead of a monologue.
The Live Workshop That Proved the Point
The episode took a turn when Rupesh invited Tatum to share her elevator pitch live on the podcast and asked Eloïse to coach her through it in real time.
Tatum went first with a version she had written down. It was clear. It was organized. And by her own admission, it sounded more like something she wrote than something she would actually say out loud. Eloïse asked her to put her notes away and just talk. Explain the same ideas, but as if she were having a conversation with a senior leader she had just met.
The transformation was immediate. Tatum's second attempt was warmer, more natural, and more engaging. She used filler words the way people actually do in conversation. She connected her ideas with transitions that felt spontaneous instead of scripted. The content was essentially the same, but the delivery changed everything.
Eloïse pointed out something that made the moment even more striking. She never told Tatum to slow down. She never told her to make eye contact. She never coached her on tone or pacing. All she did was shift Tatum from performing to conversing. Everything else fell into place on its own.
Practice the Experience, Not Just the Content
One of the most memorable pieces of advice Eloïse offered was about how people prepare. Most speakers and professionals practice the words. They write out sentences, memorize them, and rehearse them in their head. Eloïse says that's a trap.
The way you write is not the way you speak. Written sentences read out loud sound stiff and unnatural. She pointed out that even AI understands this. ChatGPT uses dashes constantly because that's how humans actually talk, in connected half-thoughts that flow into each other rather than neat paragraphs with periods at the end. When you try to speak your written words, it kills the conversational feel that makes people actually want to listen to you.
Her advice is to write down your key ideas, not your sentences. Know your bullet points. Then practice saying them out loud, standing up, in different environments. And practice the full experience, not just the content. If you're walking into a room of 500 people, practice walking into that room. Even if it's through your living room and into the bathroom. The physical experience of the moment matters just as much as what comes out of your mouth.
Don't Shrink Because Everyone Else Did
Eloïse addressed something that happens constantly at networking events, roundtables, and team introductions. People mimic how the person before them introduced themselves. If the first person gives a flat one-liner, the next person scales back. Then the next. Before long, everyone in the room has made themselves smaller because nobody wanted to be the one who stood out.
Eloïse's response to that was direct. Be generous. Just because the person next to you played it safe doesn't mean you should. Set the example. Put yourself out there. Make eye contact and actually connect to what you're saying. You'll stand out, not because you did too much, but because everyone else did too little.
She also addressed a related challenge that comes up with younger professionals and emerging leaders. They walk into rooms full of senior people and immediately tell themselves they don't belong. They assume there are more important people in the room. But if you were invited into that room, you matter. And the only way people will know how to work with you, what projects to give you, or what you're interested in is if you express it. Staying silent doesn't protect you. It makes you invisible.
Executive Presence in Three Words
When Rupesh asked Eloïse to define executive presence, she answered with three words. Credible. Relatable. Reliable.
Credible means you have the knowledge and the experience to back up what you're saying. Relatable means you're easy to talk to, you listen, and you're present with the people around you. Reliable means you show up with consistency, and when you say you're going to do something, you do it.
Eloïse said she doesn't work much on the credibility side because that comes with time and experience. She focuses on the other two. Are you truly listening to the people around you? Are you communicating with clarity? Are you building trust through consistency? These are the small shifts that have the biggest impact on how you're perceived as a leader.
The Unspoken Agreement
Eloïse closed the conversation with a piece of advice she received from a public speaking coach when she was young. There is an unspoken agreement between a speaker and an audience. When you are standing, you are in charge. You don't have to earn that. The moment you stand up, the audience gives you their attention. If you ask them to raise their hand, they will. If you ask them to stand, they will. That's the agreement.
But there's a responsibility that comes with it. If you don't fully step into that role, you let your audience down. The confidence isn't something you need to build before you get on stage. It's something the audience hands you the moment you walk up there. All you have to do is accept it.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
- An elevator pitch is a conversation starter, not a speech — its job is to make the other person want to keep talking to you.
- Use a four-part frame: headline, credibility, purpose, and a handoff back to the other person.
- Practice your ideas out loud, not your sentences. Written words read out loud always sound stiff.
- Practice the full experience — walking in, standing up, breathing — not just the content.
- Don't shrink to match the room. If you were invited in, you belong there.
- Executive presence is credible, relatable, and reliable. The last two are the ones most leaders can actually move.
- When you stand up to speak, the audience hands you their attention. Your only job is to accept it.
About Eloïse Eonnet
Eloïse Eonnet is the founder of Eloquence, a communication coaching practice she launched in 2011. She is also Director of Coach Connect at The Muse. Franco-American by background, Eloïse splits her time between Paris and New York and works with leaders across tech, healthcare, finance, startups, education, and nonprofits to help them communicate with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
About Tatum O'Kennedy
Tatum O'Kennedy is a Senior Solutions Consultant at Seeq with more than eight years of experience helping pharmaceutical teams turn complex data into actionable insights. She specializes in advanced analytics, data engineering, and process optimization across the drug product lifecycle.