That polite nod haunts business owners more than they'll admit, because you can feel the feigned engagement and interest.
I've watched this happen hundreds of times (often to myself) at conferences, in pitch meetings, on websites, and at networking events. Someone explains their business, and they get the nod. The polite acknowledgment that they've communicated something, followed by absolutely nothing. No a single follow-up question. No "tell me more!" Just courtesy. And in business, courtesy is often just rejection with manners.
What's happening in that moment is they understood your words but didn't understand the meaning or the significance behind them. They know what you do, but they don't know why it matters. Because they don’t know the stories of the customers whose lives you’ve changed and impacted. The people you’ve helped. The problems you’ve solved. The value you’ve added to the world.
Think about the last time someone told you about their work and you actually leaned in. What made that different?
It probably wasn't that they were more articulate. It was that something they said hit a nerve. It connected to something you cared about, or made you see yourself in their story somehow. That's something more than just good communication skills. It's brand clarity.
When a brand is genuinely clear about what it stands for, who it's for, and why it matters, even an imperfect explanation will land. When a brand is unclear, even perfect articulation falls flat because there's nothing to resonate with or remember.
The polite nod is actually valuable information. It's telling you that you have a meaning problem, not a communication problem. No amount of refining your elevator pitch will fix a meaning problem. That takes different work.
Next time you're asked what you do, don’t just tell them what you do, tell them why it matters.
When you do that, you don't just get a polite nod. You get "Wow, tell me more about that."
