CHAPTER 3
A Place for Everything Organizing Your Content

Keeping the focus on the other person isn't just about the key message. It extends to the way you organize your information. Consider three aspects to structuring your information:

1. The audience's needs
2. The key message you want listeners to hear
3. Your purpose-to persuade them to take action or to simply convey information

As with all things, start with the other person. What does he, she, or they need to take away from the conversation? We covered this earlier in the chapter on crafting a clear message, but it bears reinforcing. Let's use a particular scenario to demonstrate an effective overall message.

Let's say you walk into your boss's office or cubicle. Because you read Chapter 1, you already know not to start with: "I want to talk to you about Project X." Instead, you start with: "Since we have a staff meeting tomorrow, I thought it would be helpful to you to give you an update on Project X." Your boss waves you into her office. If you start with a litany of all the steps you and your team have taken with Project X, your boss is hearing data points without context and she doesn't know how to hear your points. Start instead with the broadest possible assessment of the situation.

Here are some examples:

Regarding Project X, everything is on track. The moment you say this, what happens to your boss's body language? She immediately relaxes. She's not going to hear about some major disappointment. Her task at the staff meeting tomorrow will be easy, at least with regard to this issue. Because you started with your message, she can sit back and listen as you share your update. She hears your details in the context of the broader picture. As you describe some minor challenges with the project, she hears them, knowing they didn't throw off the overall objective.

In addition, if another aspect of her job is in crisis, you've just helped her prioritize. By telling her "Everything is on track," you've given her permission to say, "In that case, let's talk about this later. I have a fire to put out." The fact that she ended the conversation abruptly is not failure on your part. It's a huge success. You have given her what she needs at the moment and let her call the shots on which problem to address. Obviously, if you tell her everything is on track, you can't then end with some bombshell that undermines your main point. Make sure your overarching message conveys the right sentiment.

Regarding Project X, we've hit a snag. Now what happens to her body language? She becomes more alert, sitting forward and concentrating on the issue. This is about to become a problem-solving meeting. She needs to focus and brainstorm with you. Again, she can prioritize. She'll ask a few questions. Your answers will tell her whether your version of "a snag" is a blip or a disaster. Once she assesses that, she'll decide whether she needs to deal with you now or later. Again, that's helpful to her, and being helpful to her is your only purpose on the planet, at least in this moment.

Regarding Project X, I've got good news and bad news. Even a mixed message gives context. Again, now she knows how to hear the content you're about to convey.

The key message sets the tone for the meeting and gives the audience control over the process. Giving up control may seem scary to many of us, but it's the more effective way to convey information. It's not about what makes you more comfortable; it's about what makes you more effective.

Once you convey your key point, it's time to convey your content. When talking to one person or a small group, your "presentation," to the extent you view it that way, becomes a discussion. People interrupt. They challenge. They engage.

When talking to a larger group, the dynamic is different. You're giving a formal presentation. Your information is more structured and you have more leeway before you're interrupted.

When you are giving a presentation, avoid using the word "presentation."

I'm here today to give you a presentation on X.

No one wants to be "presented to."

Instead, say:

I'm here today to talk to you about X.

That's not only sufficient, but it's helpful to both your audience and you. The audience engages with you differently. If people are being "presented to," they can sit back, absorb or not absorb, check their smartphones for messages, or play Words with Friends. But if you're talking to them, they need to pay attention. Your language suggests that this is a dialogue.

Also, if you're presenting from PowerPoint, avoid using the word "slide."

On that last slide you saw. . . .

Don't talk about the medium. Talk about the content.

A moment ago we were discussing. . . .

Avoid saying "slide," even when the previous slide contained a complex graph of valuable data.

Don't say, "On that scatter chart on the last slide, I showed you. . . ." (In fact, just don't ever say "scatter chart.") Instead try:

We just saw that as X decreases, Y increases by a factor of ten.

Talk about the substance, not the medium.

Let's discuss the structure of your presentation.

When you talk to a larger audience, you have one of two objectives. You either want them to know something or you want them to do something.

The Informative Format

When you want someone to know something, follow the informative presentation format.

In the following image, each box represents one slide of your presentation. In a 10-minute presentation, you should have seven slides. If you have more agenda items, you'll have an additional slide for each item, and a longer presentation.

If this format seems familiar, it should. This isn't something we at Exec|Comm invented. This is the oldest format in the world for conveying information.

Tell them what you're going to tell them.

Tell them what you've got.

Tell them what you've just told them.

This format is straight out of Aristotle's "Rhetoric." Perhaps you recognize it from Aristotle. I don't. I recognize it from fifth-grade composition class. What's the first essay we all wrote in grade school every September? For me it was "What I Did on My Summer Vacation."

We learned to write an introductory paragraph.

I had a wonderful time this summer at the beach, in the mountains, and visiting Grandma.

Then you wrote a paragraph on each. If the second paragraph mentioned Grandma, you got a "D" on the essay unless she was on the beach with you. Grandma isn't supposed to show up again until the fourth paragraph. At the end you summarized with a paragraph covering all three again and detailing your next steps.

So while I had a wonderful time at the beach, and in the mountains, and with Grandma, next year I hope my parents take us to Disneyworld.

The informative format is helpful to people, whether in your writing or when giving a presentation, because it's repetitive. The repetition drives home the key ideas.

The Persuasive Format

Sometimes we need our audience to take action, to do something, not just know something. When you want someone to do something, follow the persuasive presentation format. In a 10-minute presentation you should have eight slides, as seen in the diagram.

The gist of the persuasive format is to mention very briefly what you want, and then to spend the majority of your talk telling your audience why they should want it. There's a well-known acronym in business-WIIFM-What's in it for me? That's all anyone cares about in a work context. That's not selfish or Machiavellian. It's practical. We are all at work to get something done. When I'm listening to a business presentation, I want to know what I'm supposed to do with this information, how it's going to help me do my job better, or help the broader organization achieve its goals.

Some people think they are more persuasive if they slap the word "Obviously" at the start of the sentence.

Obviously, we need to close the deal soon.

That approach doesn't make us more persuasive; it makes us obnoxious. If you want to be more persuasive, focus on what's in it for your audience.

The Hook

Start with a hook, something to grab their attention. The best methods for this are to state a problem, quote a startling statistic, or use a rhetorical question.

State a Problem

If you state a problem, the recommendation you are about to share solves that problem.

Since you control the presentation, for the duration of the talk you have positioned this problem as the single most important issue you need to solve as a group, regardless of the broader picture.

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