At the end of a session, I always ask my coaching and workshop clients to think back on what we did and to identify the three best ideas they are taking away from our meeting. This forces people to reflect on what they just did and to connect with what resonated for them. (It also helps me see if I need to reinforce anything that I thought was equally important) In a recent coaching session, one sales engineer said something that bears sharing with anyone who presents. He said…
“An Outline is Not a Message”
Outlines are forgotten. Messages are remembered.
- An outline is a laundry list of topics. A message is the key take-away of your presentation.
- An outline tells what will be covered. A message convey the value those topics support.
- An outline is a road map. A message is the value of the trip.
Why do people confuse an agenda or an outline of “what we will be covering” with a message?
- They don’t know the difference between the two
- They are too lazy to figure out a message when it is just easier to give an agenda
- They assume listeners will figure out the message by the end
- They are not clear on the message themselves
- They have not thought through what the message is for that particular listener
Sample Messages
- A list of 3 reasons: XYZ provides.., …, and… which will (save you.., grow your…, or meet your objective)
- A statement: As you view this demo, notice how easy and elegant it is to do…which will reduce current..
- A competitive statement: Every company can do X, but only ABC can give you X AND…, which will satisfy your new guidelines.
The Pope Gets It
The Pope spoke to Congress last week. Check out his talk. He had a very clear 
message set up in a beautiful way. Only after he stated the key message did he, then, “list” his agenda.
You want to do the same in your presentations. You want to highlight a message, that is crisp, valuable, easily remembered, and tailored to your listener.
Anne Miller
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
Call today and turn your information that tells into an experience that sells.212-876-1875 amiller@annemiller.com “Anne has transformed the way we engage with clients. I highly recommend her for demo/presentation training.”Trish Bertuzzi, Pres, The Bridge Group, Inc.
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2. I discovered a new sales tool that is a time-saving godsend for anyone who needs to find telephone numbers and email addresses for prospects. What can takes hours to research now takes only seconds (!) with Capture, a plug-in created by Ringlead. Capture does this and more. Check it out. www.ringlead.com/capture
3.I keep finding really useful online services. This one is for firms that want to show online demos that are tailored to potential customers. Check out Demochimp.Very clever.