This is the latest entry in a series that examines business buzzwords, helps readers understand them and offers alternatives.

Picture this communication situation: You get on an elevator and see you are sharing it with a potential client/customer/contact you've been dying to talk to. The elevator will take, let's say, under a minute to reach ground level.

Luckily, you have prepared and practiced what is called an "elevator pitch," a brief summary of your most important and compelling sales points.

Make your pitch

An elevator pitch (or speech) can come in handy at trade shows and business conventions. They are also used in areas where a lot of new businesses are being formed, and there are venture capital investors everywhere.

An even briefer opportunity to convey an intriguing message is called the "parking lot pitch." As you can imagine, it takes a mild, sunny climate for people to be conversing as they get into their convertibles. And, yes, the original pitches were made in the parking lots of Los Angeles, especially in the Hollywood area: "It's a Brad Pitt meets Arnold on an island after a shipwreck sort of thing with Spielberg directing. Think of an updated Robinson Crusoe. Call me."

But there are plenty of situations besides elevators and parking lots where being brief and keeping to a point are good business practices.

Although we seldom have a tough nut to crack except maybe around holiday feasts, we all know what these nuts are like in terms of size, so the phrase "in a nutshell" or "give me the nutshell version" is likely to be understood. I always think of a knurly walnut as the shell.

Get to the point

It can happen with customers, with suppliers, or in a team meeting — someone drones on and on until it's no longer clear where they're headed.

One can always beg to interrupt and request a summary, but we're often in a bad mood by then and phrases like "Is there a point to this?" or "We haven't got all day," can sound hurtful. It's a little softer to say something about "beating around the bush," but seriously, does anyone ever literally do that — beat bushes?

So I recommend a nonjudgmental, colorful alternative that's as up to date as the latest adventure movie, "Cut to the chase." No more dialog, no close-ups, we're taking off running or jumping in hot cars and the chase is on — reaching your point in "no time flat."

State your case

Since their whole business is making, winning and solving cases, lawyers, prosecuting attorneys and police detectives must constantly sharpen their argument points in order to make a case for something or other. However, outside the courtroom, it seems that in business rhetoric, we should avoid "case" and use something less tied to the practice of law (or medicine, where you can have a case of pneumonia, for example).

May I suggest, "Let's have the executive summary, please?" or even "How soon do you think you could wrap this up?"