Clarity is the not-so-secret ingredient behind every persuasive presentation.
Your audience is already drowning in information. Every day we process the equivalent of 100,000 words and our brains are tired.
If your presentation or pitch adds more confusion you risk being discarded or ignored – no matter how good your ideas might be.
Perhaps your competitive advantage is your ability to separate the signal from the noise?
How we stumble into the confusion trap
“An overload of information, that is, anything much beyond what is truly needed, leads to information blackout. It does not enrich, but impoverishes.” – Peter Drucker
Let’s look at some of the most common causes of confusion. Here are some of the most common sources of confusion.
- The curse of knowledge – assuming they know what you know
- The content cram – jamming in every detail, stat and fact
- The jargon jumble – hiding your ideas behind niche or obscure language
- The crime of chaos – ideas resemble a junk drawer
- The empathy gap – failing to meet them where they are
- The sleep inducing slide deck – visuals that exist for the presenter not the audience
How to achieve clarity when you pitch and present
When clarity is missing, even the best ideas sink without a trace. These moves will keep your pitch or presentation sharp, structured, and memorable.
1. Purposeful planning
Before you craft a single sentence (and long before you open powerpoint), set your intent. What change do you want to achieve in the minds of your audience? Are you seeking a yes, a commitment, a change in perspective?
2. Stand in their shoes
With your purpose in mind, identify the gap between where your audience is now and where you want them to be. How do they currently think and feel about the change? Identify the most likely areas of resistance and points of difference.
3. Give it form
Structure is your best friend when it comes to clarity. For most business presentations, a 3×3 framework is a safe and effective default structure that you can reach for in most situations. Make sure every argument ties back to your purpose and is backed by sharp, relevant evidence.
4. Pain-free powerpoint
Create visuals that help you to explain the essence of one idea per slide. They should make sense at a glance. Marie Kondo your deck over and over again.
5. Light the path
Do the mental gymnastics. Make the connections, be explicit, be consistent and guide your audience to your request. Repetition is both and ancient rhetorical technique and a masterstroke in modern world of overwhelm.
Remember, people may not tell you that your presentation was confusing. But there will be signs! You will see it in their reaction or lack of reaction. Not leaning in, nodding or asking questions? Chances are you have fallen into the vortex of confusion.