You give your elevator pitch. They nod, say "Oh, nice," and ask if you've tried the coffee.
If that keeps happening, test whether your pitch is clear and relevant.
The only job of an elevator pitch is to make the other person want to hear more. If they don't ask a follow-up question, treat that as feedback.
Start by deciding what you want them to do next. Keep talking? Book a call? Introduce you to someone? The answer changes what you lead with.
Then cut it down to the one idea you'd share if you only had 10 seconds.
For a local SEO consultant, that might look like:
Before: "I work with cutting-edge technology to provide high-impact, innovative solutions."
After: "I help local contractors get more calls from Google without paying for ads."
The first version could describe almost any company. The second says who you help and what changes for them. It also hands the listener an easy next question: "How do you do that?"
Try yours on someone this week, and listen for the follow-up.