Persuade by Clarifying Your Main Point
If you’ve ever watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a coming-of-age classic film, you understand the agony of being trapped in a room with a boring speaker who rambles on, regurgitating seemingly disconnected bits of knowledge. In one scene, actor and economist Ben Stein lectures about tariffs in a monotone and listless manner. It’s a disaster when the presenter fails to get to the core point right away, especially if the topic is important and relevant. Bad presentations, whether in-person or in podcast, print, or video form, waste everyone’s time. If time is money, no one is earning a positive return.
It takes skill to convey your message in a meaningful manner. Gifted communicators learn how to disseminate knowledge as a hierarchy of ideas, unified around a big picture theme. Influencing others with your content starts with understanding what you want to say and why. Building your presentation is analogous to building a house. You first decide on the kind of shelter you need and then figure out whom to hire and what supplies to buy. Otherwise, you end up with a compromised dwelling that won’t pass inspection or satisfy your personal needs.
Start by asking yourself the following questions:
- What is the main point I want everyone to grasp?
- Why do I think this concept is critical for the audience to know?
- How can I motivate my audience to agree with me that this point is important?
- How can I avoid confusing the audience
- What techniques can I use to reinforce the importance of the main point I am making?
Your main point is a sine qua non of successful messaging. It’s the framework of your house. Everything else must support your main point or, more broadly, the theme of your presentation.
Suppose for example I am engaged to write a white paper on behalf of an ESG hedge fund, structured specifically to satisfy compliance requirements for ERISA retirement plans. The marketing and sales teams plan to distribute this thought leadership item to 401(k) plan investment committee members who represent mid-sized U.S. companies. The main point of this educational content is to remind investment fiduciaries of their duty to prudently select and monitor investments. Why is this main point important to the audience? Poor decisions on the part of the investment fiduciaries could lead to litigation and financial harm to retirement plan participants. The white paper would logically commence with a brief discussion of what it means to be an ERISA investment fiduciary and what could happen in the event of a breach of mandated duties. Once this main point is clearly established, the remainder of the white paper should emphasize the notion of a fiduciary lens. Supporting material, like the bricks I need to build my house, could include a description of how someone can evaluate an ESG hedge fund’s management team, operations, and reporting methodology using ERISA prudence principles. Case studies, a selection and monitoring tips guide, and lessons learned from regulatory actions are other possibilities. Every section must map back to the central theme.
What is today’s persuasion power tip? State your main point as clearly and succinctly as possible. Let the audience know why they should care about what’s to follow. Repeat your main point throughout your presentation to make sense of what may otherwise seem like a jumble of random thoughts. The sage advice is to say what you plan to talk about, talk about it, and then say what you just talked about. Repeating your basic assertion helps to reinforce your message, lends an air of credibility (truth effect), encourages audience memorization, and, in some situations, creates a sense of urgency. Repetition may be pleasing to the ear, can minimize confusion, and encourage your audience to trust you.
If studies are true that attention spans are shrinking, we can all benefit from well-structured content that has us glued to our seats, wanting more. Persuasive content starts with explaining your What and Why.
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Susan Mangiero
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