Dyslexia Elevator Pitch

Salespeople know that there is an art to getting their pitch down to succinct speech concise enough to share on an elevator ride with a stranger. People with dyslexia should be armed with the same ability to explain their Learning Difference quickly and concisely so that friends, family, coworkers and teachers can get an overview of their struggles easily. Here’s a short and sweet breakdown of what that elevator pitch may look like.

Points to Include in the Dyslexia Elevator Pitch

1. What dyslexia is: Dyslexia is a neurological Learning Disability. In other words, a dyslexic person’s brain is wired to handle information differently. 2. How dyslexia affects an individual: Sometimes it takes a dyslexic brain longer to process information and figure out how to use the new data. It makes reading and writing more difficult.

3. Advantages of dyslexia: The dyslexic brain is often great at spatial reasoning and creative thought. There are a lot of dyslexics in fields like business, architecture, and creative arts.

4. What dyslexia DOESN’T mean: Being dyslexic doesn’t make a person dumb or lazy.

5. What a dyslexic person needs: Being patient goes a long way!

Bonus! There are ton of famous people with dyslexia. Do some name-dropping.

Sample Dyslexia Elevator Pitches

Elementary students can remember something like: “I have dyslexia. That means that my brain is wired a bit differently than yours, but different is ok. I’m not lazy or dumb, it just takes me longer to read, write, and understand information. Please be patient with me. Luckily, dyslexia makes me really creative. In fact, Walt Disney had dyslexia and he created Mickey Mouse. One day maybe I’ll be famous too.”

Middle school and high school students may prefer: “Dyslexia makes things like reading and writing a struggle sometime, but I’ve found that it makes me really creative. I’m good at math, art, and business, but my brain’s wiring makes taking notes in class a challenge sometimes. I’m not lazy or dumb, I just learn better with a tape recorder than a pen and paper, and I read better with audio books than with printed material. But, hey, if Richard Branson can make millions and be dyslexic, I figure I’ll be ok.”

Adults may prefer an elevator pitch like: “Dyslexia means my brain processes information differently, but everyone has challenges. Once I figured out things like audio books being better than printed ones and that computers are better than pen and paper, I’ve gotten the challenges down to manageable levels. Dyslexia isn’t something I can fix, but I’ve figured out how to work around it where I struggle and embrace it where it helps me.”

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