The Elevator Speech: How to Talk About the Center for Practical Bioethics
Published on: July 21, 2026
By Monica Delles
Digital Marketing and Technology Integration Manager
We are all proud of what the Center achieves in practical bioethics, but explaining what the Center does is not so easy. Sometimes I wish it was as easy as stating we rescue animals and adopt them out — not an easy job, but straightforward to explain. Our unique work as the only free-standing nonprofit practical bioethics center in the country creates an awkwardness when quickly explaining the Center’s work.
I’ve worked at the Center for over 10 years, and for the first year, when asked what the Center does, I would feel my heart race, take a deep breath, and attempt to describe our work. I would even use the phrase “it’s complicated” as I struggled to convey our work. I tried so hard to be accurate and cover as much as I could before the elevator door opened. I think they stepped off the elevator with more questions than answers. I would exhale and regroup after the doors closed, feeling as though I survived another elevator speech, and tell myself I’ll get better.
But over the years, I’ve realized people are familiar with some of our work, that we can connect on at least one area of our work, and they don’t need to know everything we do. A quick overall description to answer the question or get a conversation started in the direction of their interests and experiences, works.
To our brave supporters, we thank you for going through these awkward moments describing and promoting the Center the best you could. We understand your struggle.
Recently we created formal branding messaging that the staff and board have been using with success. Below is our branding message in hopes that you feel confident in spreading the importance of our work. The goal of this blog is to reduce your anxiety when talking about the Center, so you feel comfortable discussing and supporting our work.
About the Center
The Center for Practical Bioethics (CPB), founded in 1984, is a Kansas City-based nonprofit nationally recognized for its work in practical bioethics.
Mission: To raise and respond to ethical issues in health and healthcare.
Vision: Advancing the health and dignity of all persons through ethical discourse and action.
Core Values: Dignity, Advocacy, Justice, and Action.
“What Does the Center for Practical Bioethics Do?”
Our long answer is:
“The Center for Practical Bioethics helps patients, families, organizations, and our community address ethical issues in health and health care through policy and actionable ethics services.”
Our short answers are:
“We help provide clarity for ethical issues in health and health care through policy and actionable ethics services.”
OR
“We raise and respond to ethics issues in health and healthcare.”
Use the Compass Analogy
When lost in the woods, your compass guides you out.
“We act as an ethical compass in health and healthcare, empowering a path toward clarity through empathy, neutrality, and actionable ethics services for individuals, organizations, and the community.”
The compass analogy works well because we do not offer the same solution to a clinical ethics dilemma — we help guide the participants in a direction they can travel together. If you read some of our popular case studies, you’ll notice the outcome of the case is missing. We provide the facts to consider and the dilemma, and we write about the case study and the factors to consider, but we cannot give a solution to the case because the outcome is always dynamic. The outcome depends on the participants, the current laws, the clinicians, and our current medical knowledge. When the ethicist suggests a solution for the ethical dilemma, these factors determine the outcome.
Key Messages Tailored for Different Audiences
How do we describe the Center’s work to healthcare professionals?
The Center provides clinical ethics services that offer real-time support for challenging ethical dilemmas. These services typically involve consultations with patients, families, and medical teams, leading to neutral guidance.
How do we describe the Center in the community?
The Center provides ethics education to professional and community groups. Center staff present at conferences, webinars, and workshops, and create educational content for lay and professional audiences.
How do we describe the Center to lawyers and policymakers?
We believe bioethics has a broad impact reaching into health equity, justice, and population health. We engage with policymakers who seek us out to better understand the ethical implications of their actions and to embed the principles of bioethics in our community.
What is the goal of the Center for Practical Bioethics?
Better patient care and a more human health care system.
In an ideal world, the Center believes that healthcare organizations would be more trustworthy, patients and families would be heard and more often have care that aligns with their goals, and health and healthcare would more effectively function to achieve their mission.
Hopefully, this information will make it easier to talk about the Center with your friends and family. We are not easy to explain, but we thank you for trying.
AUTHOR
Monica Delles is the fulltime Digital Marketing and Technology Integration Manager for the Center for Practical Bioethics.
