Explanation Clarification
How explaining something to someone new teaches you what you didn't yet understand.
Written by Joshua Steely May 6th, 2026. Edited May 7th, 2026
A particular form of clarification via explanation has struck me recently in two different ways. First, this morning when setting up a business checking account for the Crate and explaining the business to the banker. Second, this evening when explaining a type of encounter that I only recently put a name to.
Neither of those one-sentence explanations make much sense, so here's more depth:
The Elevator Pitch
When going through the STARTedUP program as early as 2022, I heard something along the lines of, "you should have a 10 second pitch, a 3 minute pitch, and a 10 minute pitch ready. The 10 seconds is a hook, the 3 minutes is a sinker, and the 10 minutes is a sale." I may have just made up that last part, knowing nothing about fishing metaphors, but the super short, short, and longer pitch lengths are something that just makes sense. Situationally, you want to have room to elaborate, and not take 5 minutes for your briefest explanation. If you can't grossly summarize your entire business in one sentence, your business is probably trying to do too much. That's why mission statements need to be brief: so your sole purpose shines through (see: Keller & Papasan's 2012 book, "The One Thing" which I hope to reread this summer).
Okay, but how does the elevator pitch clarify anything for the owner?
By zooming in, before zooming out.
Let me ask you this: What is the core, main, fundamental focus of your business? If you don't have that answer, then trying to explain it to a passerby is going to be extremely difficult. You can never say something like, "oh, you wouldn't understand" to a potential investor, but you also can't take 10 minutes of their time without a meeting to answer their "wut dis?" question with your convoluted, unpracticed answer.
My shortest answer to that question is (and was, this morning) "art workshops" but I know there's so much more to the Crate. Really, it should be "upcycled art-based programming for ages 8 and up" but two words is easier to remember, if slightly less accurate. But again, that's only the 2-10 second explanation. The next level is made easy by the C.R.A.T.E. acronym: Collaborative, Recreational, Artistic Thrifting Experience. Is everybody as lucky to have such an integral explanation built into their business' name? Nope. But I'm sure gonna take advantage of it whenever and wherever I can. One such case is the elevator pitch.
It's always important to somehow cater the pitch to your audience, and the Crate allows for that by offering such a diverse range of programs. Am I pitching to a parent?: emphasize Studio O's private lessons. An executive?: talk about The Lemonade Stand. A librarian?: well then, they'll want to hear about the Curiosity Crate extravaganzas (though, that name is still being workshopped..). In any case, I can explain how the acronym applies to their particular program, and end by re-emphasizing the first letter: Collaboration. Every step is a collaboration, and whatever they have in mind, we want to try and make happen, Crate-style.
That went off on a worthy tangent, but back to the concept of the post: What if you can't explain the business in a brief way? Then you need to spend some time developing exactly what your core is. What few words summarize it, but also leave enough room for questions wanting more? The goal is never to say "art workshops" or "car vinyl wraps" and have the person walk away thinking they understand your whole business. You want them to ask another question! continue the conversation! engage with you! Just, make sure that you know the concise answer for their questions. If you don't–like if you're floundering after a financial question as I so often did (and sadly still do, though I'm learning tons)–then that's a gap you need to address. You need to learn more about the financial side of your business so you stop floundering. The explanation (or lack-thereof) highlighted a weakness. Now strengthen that weakness.
Explaining the business to someone new explains your business to you. And sometimes, that explanation has a hole that you didn't see. Finding those holes is invaluable, because then you know what to work to improve next. Sometimes it just takes a fresh pair of eyes and ears to spot them.
The "Doorway Conversation"
I'll stop talking about the Crate and business stuff for a couple paragraphs, but only a couple. I'm itching to keep yapping about it, especially now, when so much progress is being made.
The "doorway conversation" is something I never had a phrase for… until now. And it's only because I needed to explain the phenomenon to someone new to prevent it from becoming an issue.
When living in the same house with other people, they can sometimes swing by your room to "check in" or just say hi, knocking on your door then standing in the doorway. Sometimes, they want to talk, but other times they really do just want to say hi. Either way, they often are interrupting something because you're in your room, most likely in the middle of something (productive or not is besides the point). So there can be an immediately defensive: 'you're interrupting' vibe, contrasting with a 'I'm just saying hi' temporary-as-the-wind vibe. It's like they have one foot in the door and one hand on the handle. Not much productive conversation happens when you aren't sure if a person is coming or going or ready to chat.
Sometimes, I would be in the mood to talk and I'd strike something up. These could last anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes. But rarely would the person leave the doorway. It would remain that iffy, 'are they gonna leave once I take a breath?' and wasn't a secure conversation. Your voice would carry down the hall, begging for interjecting laughs from the peanut gallery or comments from the brother you didn't know was listening (because you're never quite sure when he's listening or not). Doorway conversations are highly prone to interruption. They're not cozy convos.
So when setting up new house rules with someone I haven't lived with yet in my adult years, the topic of "what to avoid" came up, and these came to mind. But before the topic arose, I hadn't really considered them. The name was a result of wanting to name the confusing interactions I'd had, and after naming them I finally created a clearer definition. I could explain something I'd only yet experienced.
Through explaining it, I better understand what my initial problem even was. I had to formulate what felt wrong about it because I was trying to make someone else understand what was wrong about it. I couldn't just say "vibes" and shrug. I had to actually think about it.
Explanations, man. They make you think. And when you think, you can find the clarity you didn't even know you needed.
Now back to the Crate.
