The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) funds and provides valuable educational and training opportunities in regenerative medicine for students and young professionals from backgrounds that reflect the diverse communities across California.
One of the goals of these work training programs is to inspire the next generation of regenerative medicine scientists. CIRM does that by partnering with academic and research institutions to provide hands-on training in the technical skills critical to scientific and medical advancement and connect to real-world opportunities in the field.
One of these skills is to practice the fine art of pitching. And no, we’re not talking about baseball. We mean the elevator pitch.
Learning how to pitch an idea or research is a fundamental and valuable skill. For scientists, explaining their work to the average person is critical. If they can’t make their research approachable and engaging, they risk losing the attention of journalists, potential donors, politicians, or other stakeholders who fund their research.
Best first steps in developing an elevator pitch are:
- Grab their attention with a really good hook or one-liner.
- Avoid technical jargon.
- Draw them in and let them know why it matters.
- Keep it short—under two minutes.
- Make it universal.
Check out some of the awesome elevator pitches that we received from CIRM COMPASS, Bridges, and Scholars trainees below:
The Stem Cellar 