What to Say in an Elevator

Imagine yourself entering an elevator. The person next to you asks you a simple question: “What do you do?” Could you answer it before one of you exited the elevator? How would your explanation differ from that of a colleague? Now imagine what would happen if all Academy members used a same message that was consistent with the AAPM&R public education materials and campaigns. The results would be increased awareness and understanding of PM&R.

To help members communicate in a similar fashion, an “elevator speech” has been created for Academy members to utilize whenever there is an opportunity to promote awareness of the specialty. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the right words when you are put on the spot. The following five bullets can help you respond in a clear and concise manner:

Question: What do you do?

Response:

• I’m a rehabilitation physician – a nerve, muscle, and bone expert.

• I diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses that affect how you move.

• My goal is to reduce pain and restore function without surgery.

• Rehabilitation physicians help patients stay as active as possible at any age.

• Our broad medical expertise has trained us to diagnose and treat disabling conditions throughout a person’s lifetime.

At this point, you can explain very briefly in layman’s terms your particular area of focus and how you help patients. For example: “My area of specialty is back pain. I work with patients to identify the root causes of their back pain, and create a treatment plan to alleviate the pain.”

If you have the time (and the memory), feel free to add this additional point:

• Rehabilitation physicians take the time needed to accurately pinpoint the source of an ailment…then we design treatments that can be done by the patients themselves or with our medical team.

If members all use the same “speech,” the messages will be consistent with other Academy members and with the Academy’s outreach activities. The goal is to help consumers better understand the profession. It’s also quite important that you are comfortable expressing these thoughts. Members should feel free to change the sequence of the messages or even some of the words if doing so better reflects your personal style.

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