“Don’t confuse me with the facts!” “The confused customer does not buy.”
When you make your prospective customer feel stupid, when you drown them in details, they will find a way to make it YOUR fault that they don’t understand. And it IS your fault.
The 80/20 rule very much applies to messaging. Eighty percent of your customers can probably only understand twenty percent of what you want to tell them. So DON’T tell them unless and until they ask.
“Here’s our high-level approach. If any of you would like me to double click on this, please let me know” is way better than showing everyone in the room a dense diagrammatic slide that only you and the VP of Engineering could possibly grasp.
Eighty percent of your audience just wants their business problems solved. They don’t want to know HOW you do it, just that you WILL do it. Outcomes are everything.
The Eiffel Tower is a great messaging guide. The outcomes you offer are that very top spire of the Eiffel Tower. The how-you-do-it is the base. In every presentation you give, make a decision – how far down the Eiffel Tower am I going to go today?
Not sure how to crush your next presentation? Navigate tough questions? Need some pragmatic, actionable communications advice? Consider Office Hours with Lisa, a great way to get bite-sized, personalized coaching. And there are tons of resources in poseycorp’s newsletter – subscribe here. Get some skills! Because it’s the great communicators who create the change they want to see in the world!
