CRAFTING A CLEAR MESSAGE – Page 2

Can you give me one good reason?

February 19, 2012February 1, 2015refusetobeboring

I was in Malaysia and Singapore this month to give some mini-workshops on sales presentations. During one of the sessions I asked my audience, who was very engaged, to “Give me one good reason” to buy their product. Most of the attendees struggled to come up with an answer. I thought it may be an ESL (English as a second language) issue since things get lost in translation, but even the English speaking members were not having an easy time. I used this “one good reason” exercise when I was discussing the need for a concise, clear message in sales presentations. I thought it would be a good place to start,… Read More

What’s your point? 4 tips on writing the message for your presentation.

September 5, 2011February 1, 2015refusetobeboring

Think about the last presentation you attended; what was the presenter’s point? Designing a presentation around the most important point (the message) greatly increases the chances that the audience will remember it over time. This is why presentation design starts with crafting a clear concise message. One mistake presenters make is to assume an audience can remember multiple “takeaways”. The old saying is true; if everything is important then nothing is important. I follow a message crafting framework that is taught by Dcode communications (www.dcodecommunications.com) in their presentation training program called Wavelength. They recommend crafting your message by completing the statement What I really want you to understand… Read More

Try writing a logline for your next presentation

April 3, 2011February 1, 2015refusetobeboring

A dashing archaeologist must reunite with the ex he dumped if he is to beat the Nazis to find the all-powerful lost Ark of the Covenant. Do you recognize this? It describes the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark; that is its logline. Loglines are used by screenwriters to describe their film’s story in a sentence or two; the rule is 27 words or less. A logline answers the question, “So, what’s your film about?” Screenwriters create a logline at the beginning of the writing process in order to test their story concept. They need to break down a complex book or story into simple components in order to fit… Read More