#2 What is it for

Don’t tell me what something is. I see it’s a table or a chart. Instead, tell me what it’s for. What problem is it solving? What good is it for me? What’s the benefit? Why should I care?

Recently I attended a presentation where the speaker would show their product. Screen by screen they’d explain what’s in there. The explanation felt very much like the alt text of an image: describing what I was already seeing. What I was actually interested in was what the product could do for me, how would it help me? Unfortunately, we never got to that. We ran out of time.

So the next time you get to explain something start with the why. Why should your audience care? Why should they keep listening or reading? How will it change their life? Like a newspaper article: start with the most important thing and slowly add context to it. The more you tell, the more information your audience will have. But they will know the most important thing already, and they will be hooked. Do this, otherwise there is a chance you run out of time and your audience never gets to hear why you wanted their attention.

What are you presenting next? How does it benefit your audience?