Mary Kay Ash is quoted as saying, “A mediocre idea that guarantees enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.”  I would like to suggest a corollary:  A mediocre idea that is understood is more powerful than a great idea that no one understands.

You may have seen people ignore this simple truth.

Paula Simmons cited a course description from the University of Alberta as an example of writing that is hard to understand.

“We will interrogate the production of ‘society’ out of a non-totalized set of archival fragments or ‘ruins,’ and we will ask how the writing of history sets hegemonic discourses into opposition with counter-discourses.”

I think this means “we will look at how culture influences the way history is written”.  But really, I have no idea.  Perhaps the person who wrote it felt obligated to use intellectual jargon.

Your dilemma may actually be worse. What if you have an important idea that is really complex and really hard to understand? This is very possible.  Many of the clients we serve have very complex, technical concepts that they need to convey to broad business audiences. Under these conditions, what is one to do?  Here is a 3-step process that can offer your audience an on-ramp to comprehending your important, hard-to-understand idea.

1. Start with the problem you are solving.  Suggest for example, that the world needs an abundant source of renewable energy that has little or no environmental impact.
2. Connect your idea to something people already understand.  For example, fusion is how the sun creates energy.  Our new process takes advantage of this same concept…
3. Offer more resources.  For more information on our new fusion generator, see our web site here.  And for more general information, consider buying Principles of Fusion Energy: An Introduction to Fusion Energy for Students of Science and Engineering.

In the extra-credit zone:  Don’t make up new words unless you must.  It is tempting to lead an industry by coining a word or phrase.  But most of the time, a new term either confuses or leaves the audience feeling you might have aggrandized a bit.

When you bring clarity to a tough topic, you are viewed as an expert and a person that customers, executives and others can turn to when they need to understand. It is an enviable and powerful position.

Here’s an idea for beating it.

Write down 3 points about the topic:

1. The page is blank
2. I don’t know the topic that well
3. I have anxiety about doing this

Expand those 3 points into full sentences:

1. When confronted with a blank page, it is important to break the writing exercise into small and manageable chunks.
2. Since the topic I’m writing about is something I’ve experienced, but have never been trained on how to deal with, I’ll have to rely on personal experience and then any research I can muster around the topic.
3. I’ve never written a blog before and it is intimidating to even think about starting because I want to do well.

Develop the sentences into paragraphs (worry about editing later)

1. Breaking the writing exercise into small chunks allows me to focus my mind.  Instead of a blank white page that could hold any type of content and go in any direction, I get three clear points to focus on.  Once the three points are down I have a small victory.  A sense of accomplishment.  This bit of confidence gives me something to stand on.
2. Applying my own experience helps me get words on the page.  It’s easier to tell a story than to find the perfect research. It also gets me closer to getting a good draft of the document and my point of view. Delving into a bit of research from there provides grist for me to draw from and informs the paragraph portion of my writing assignment.
3. Now that I have my 3 core ideas, turned those points into sentences and started to turn the sentences into paragraphs, I begin to see that I might be able to pull this off in spite of my concerns.  The paragraphs now offer a real starting point.  They let me get a start on the blog without forcing myself to sit down and “write a blog” all at once, which is daunting when it stands by itself.

Once you have your ideas down in rough paragraphs, you have something to work with.  Your mind has the focus it needs to shape the basic ideas into whatever structure you need to work from.  We know that finding the right words can be hard, but getting the basic ideas on the page doesn’t have to be.

This technique can work for any writing project you might need to tackle, from blogs, to speeches, to articles or whatever else might need to be written from scratch.

And he wrote his own speeches.  A bunch of them.

Most are classics.  For example, before he was prime minister, Churchill offered a speech to the House of Commons at the outbreak of the second World War.  He offers the perspective of a man that can see history and give voice to our place within it.

“…there is a generation of Britons here now ready to prove itself not unworthy of the days of yore and not unworthy of those great men, the fathers of our land, who laid the foundations of our laws and shaped the greatness of our country.’

Many of us (me for sure) are not capable of writing with such passion and insight.

But there are a couple of techniques that he used that we can imitate.

Write drafts.  Churchill took his speeches seriously.  He worked hard on them.  Perhaps one reason he found just the right words is he experimented with words until he was satisfied.  He is quoted as saying he spent an hour on every minute of speech.

Plan and rehearse.  We have evidence that his final draft was structured in a way to suggest pauses and when to emphasize ideas.  It is believed he spent a great deal of time thinking about how his words should be delivered.  Below is an example.

Stop changing:  Once a speech was complete, it was complete.  Churchill read his speeches word-for-word.  This level of completeness and preparedness contrasts with many of the speeches we see that continue to change until the very last moment.  (no exaggeration:  we watched a speech writer changing slides as a technology CEO walked on-stage with many thousands in attendance).

With luck, you will not be asked to comment on or lead the defense of the entire free world.  But your talks matter.  And you can leverage some of the genius of Winston Churchill to make your speeches more powerful.

In a recent episode, Jonathan Boos, the owner of Wurkin Stiffs a provider of magnetic collar stays wants an investment to expand production.

The Good

Jonathan made several excellent moves.

A clear ask. He started his presentation with a statement of what he wanted. He was looking for an investor to provide $85K for a specific percentage of his collar stay company. Nice work. Executives want to know what they are being asked to do.

Tangible evidence. Jonathan brought a sample not just of magnetic collar stays, but of other products he had invented. This gave the panel a way to closely examine the product he was presenting and evidence of the type of work he consistently performs. Very impactful.

Knowing the numbers. Off the top of his head, Jonathan was able to rattle off his projected profit for this year and next. He was able to enumerate the number of major retailors currently selling his products and how many would start selling the products in the near future. Accurate numbers boost the confidence of an executive – especially if the numbers bear directly on the argument being made.

The Bad

A couple of things felt off the mark.

Wrong answer. One investor made an offer early on in the pitch. It was a less than ideal offer. The first thing out of Jonathan’s mouth should have been “thank you”, then a polite decline. Instead, he argued. Ouch.

Wrong audience. While Jonathan knew his audience (it varied from a real estate mogul to owner of a basketball franchise), he was actually looking for an investor who had experience in men’s clothing. He was well into his presentation before he mentioned he was hoping to work with one specific investor. If the target of your presentation is a subset of the audience, this is suboptimal. But one thing that can be done is include everyone by changing the talk slightly. “I want guidance and feedback from everyone, but I am looking for an investment from someone with experience in men’s clothing.”

Wrong vibe. Jonathan appeared nervous. Nervous behavior diminished his credibility, even though he was clearly presenting a great product and business model. Executives can smell fear. Rehearsal is a fantastic anecdote for stressful presentations. Even if you are feeling the pressure, your training kicks in and you perform well.

“Shark Tank” is a weekly opportunity for you to view and learn from others’ high pressure executive situations. And while you may never have magnetic collar stays to pitch, you can learn things to do – and things you might want to avoid.

So come on. You’ve seen something similar. Let’s hear your pitch.

Why would the executive post get so much more traffic? For one, blog posts are often more accessible and easier to read than standard corporate communications. More importantly, people value senior leaders’ opinions and viewpoints – executive blogs provide a window into leaders’ perspectives that readers would not otherwise get.

That’s why many organizations are using executive blogs to announce or amplify company news, such as new partnerships, acquisitions, or product launches. Compared to other corporate channels, executive blogs are a more impactful, personal and flexible way to communicate.

How do you craft a compelling executive blog post on company news?

Here are a few tips:

Do’s

1) Get to the point – Deliver the key message early on. Don’t spend too much time on background or context setting.

2) Be conversational – Use a personal, authentic tone. Write the way you talk – it’s more memorable for readers.

3) Know your audience – Speak to what they care about. Address their needs, interests, and concerns.

4) Say something interesting – Share insight. Provide new information. Generic PR or marketing-speak won’t cut it.

5) Make it personal – Offer a story, anecdote or observation from the executive’s experience.

Don’ts

1) Be long-winded – Your message will likely get buried. Instead: Edit ruthlessly. Remove extraneous words and examples.

2) Provide detailed background information – You’ll lose your audience. Instead: Briefly provide the basics and then move on. Link to the details.

3) Attempt to appeal to all audiences – A broad message can be too generic and lack impact. Instead: Target a specific audience. Focus on what will resonate with them.

You have been there. The presenter seems to have lost their place. They are rambling about topics that seem to have nothing to do with the visuals they are presenting. As they advance the visuals, you discover (and they discover) that they have already covered most of the topic now on the visual.

So they cover the same topic again.

This continues to a greater or lesser degree throughout the presentation.

The coup de grace comes at the end when the presenter just kind of peters out. “Well, that is about it, I think. That’s really what I wanted to cover. I guess, if we have a little, time, I am thinking I could see if you have any questions.”

You can avoid this horror with the power of the transition sentence.

A transition sentence is how you get from where you are to the next topic. And it is ALWAYS about the next topic.

We are borrowing ideas from Dale Carnegie and possibly others. Dale Carnegie said you should memorize your first and last sentence in a speech. Those two sentences are examples of a transition. One gets you going. One gets you off the stage. This is good guidance from Dale. He says people don’t remember much in between, but I am hoping your talk is a bit more interesting.

So we will focus on transitions during your talk. Starting with moving from slide to slide. Here are the rules:

1. Write a transition to get you off the current slide and onto the next one. All of them.

2. The transition sentence is always about the NEXT slide.

3. Write the whole sentence, not just a few reminder words.

Here are these rules in action.

When you plan the transitions, you feel more confident. You sound smoother. And you sound more in command of the topics being covered.

You have your own thoughts on making transitions. Set us up for the next blog by sharing those thoughts.

· Mention audience members by name

· Ask questions

Today we get to a few more tactics that may require a little more effort but also offer the promise of even greater dividends in terms of audience engagement.

Connect around common experience. When you talk about something that you share with your audience you introduce a level of empathy that connects you and your message with that audience. Consider the difference between these two approaches that express the same idea:

“Meeting with new, potential customers can be difficult. There is a need to prepare. There is a need to really listen to what they are saying. And to build credibility, you need to talk knowledgeably about the customer and their problems. Today, I am going to show you how to do each of these things.”

- or -

“I remember sitting where you are right now, thinking about how to make the best impressions on customers. For me, preparation took time. I had to train myself to really listen. And most frightening for me, I had to find ways to bring ideas into the conversation that really added value and demonstrated my knowledge of the customer’s business. Today, we are going to talk about each of these.”

Reference current events. Talking about things that happened today can make the topic you are discussing more relevant and fresh. Consider these two ideas:

“Even in volatile times, there are customers that need our solutions.”

- or -

“This morning the Dow was up/down 150 points in early trading. This is one expression of the volatile business times in which live. Here is the point. Today and every day, regardless of business volatility, there are customers that need our solutions.”

Localize to venue. When you are talking to a group as a visitor, take time to talk to them about themselves – even if this is not your main topic. When you talk about them, it makes you seem appreciative, aware and gracious. Consider these two options at expressing the same idea:

“I am so glad to be here. We have so much to discuss regarding the future and where we are going together.”

- or -

“I am so glad to be here. This team has fantastic examples of the type of achievements we need to drive everywhere in our business. When it comes to innovation, no team has done more than this group right here – defining new solutions, creating new go-to market strategies and aligning our business with the things our customers really want and need. Your contributions are truly appreciated. Today these things are the focus of our conversation – what our future looks like and ways we can get there together”

So these are some ideas on how to engage with your audience. To engage with us, all you need to do is comment. We’re all ears.

If you want to drive to deep insights and strong team alignment, consider applying techniques that compel your audience to think with you. This is most effective when you need to have strong intellectual and emotional connections. Effectively, you need to discuss something really important.

Many of the executive presentations we deliver fall into this category.

For example, several of our clients have wanted to move their sales teams from product sales to solution sales. Intellectually this may make a lot of sense. But it is difficult.

Let’s use that situation as an example to illustrate 5 techniques that compel your audience to meditate with you as you examine an important topic. This blog post will cover off on two.

Mention audience members by name. When you mention an audience member, you change the tone. It is like you are talking to the audience members individually. Consider the difference in impact these two ways of expressing the same idea might have on audience engagement.

“We have examined the sales results and concluded our customers are interested in solving problems – not necessarily in having newer, faster equipment. Customer opportunities focused on solutions close faster and up to 30% more often.”

- or -

“Roger, I remember the two of us talking last spring. You talked about seeing how our faster equipment could really solve some tough problems for your customers – and when you talked to one of your customers in those terms, they agreed to start running a pilot right away. Today that is one of your biggest accounts. The numbers reinforce your perspective. Customer opportunities focused on solutions close faster and up to 30% more often.”

Ask questions. Whether the members of the audience want to or not, when you ask a question they mentally answer. It can be a good way to connect in a manner that gets the audience thinking and agreeing with your premise. Consider the following two options to saying the same thing.

“Customers frequently attend a meeting with things on their mind. We can use these moments to understand the solution that is really going to work for them.”

- or -

“How many of you have talked to a customer that let you chat for a moment about a new product and then tried to change the subject? Something like, ‘Listen. We could talk more about your product, but our real issue is driving out costs around some of our basic utility items so we can focus on other things.’”

Feel the difference? (Notice you mentally answered). Questions have the power to create an immediate connection between you and your audience. In the best case, you ask a question to which they have the same answer as you wanted to offer.

There are more powerful techniques. In the next blog entry we will discuss three more techniques.

• Connect around common experience
• Reference current events
• Localize to venue

You have your own techniques for getting people to engage. Can’t wait. We’re on the edge of our seats.

“I am going to make a simple argument.” And then he failed to make that argument.

He talked about other things. And I was left feeling that his perspective was correct. But I was also left with the nagging feeling that he hadn’t thought it all the way through because his speech did not center around and support the simple argument that he promised.

That is the danger.  Failing intellectually to fulfill the promise you establish at the start of your speech can make a good argument go bad.

Here are some of the powerful approaches that can turn on you.

The numbered list that doesn’t finish. Which three federal departments are you planning to close? Rick Perry famously couldn’t remember all three. But the same thing happens when you promise to cover five things and then ramble so no one can tell if you covered five things or not.

The funny thing that isn’t. If you use these words. “This is really funny.” You are in trouble already. There is at least a portion of the audience that is thinking, I’ll be the judge of that. It is also the sort of thing that people say that are not comfortable using humor. Beware the funny story that isn’t. It detracts significantly from your whole presentation.

The missed connection. Historical references, popular references and heaven forbid, Shakespeare references all have the potential to be lost on your audience. This is particularly true if you have an international audience. Explain enough to make sure everyone understands the reference.

The “Therefore” that doesn’t make sense. Woody Allen once lampooned philosophical thinking in his book “Getting Even” this way.

• Socrates is a man
• All men are mortal
• All men are Socrates

Make sure your logical connection is logical. When you infer a relationship and it is tenuous, you run the risk of losing your audience.

The simple that isn’t. Ever have someone tell you that predicate calculus or some other complex topic was simple? You wait, hoping it has been simplified. But then hope is replaced by disappointment, anger and, in my case, confusion. Don’t try to win the audience over with the promise that you will make a tough subject easy to follow. You just disappoint.

You heard a speech recently and thought, that is not quite right. Share with me. I’d love to hear what you learned.

Wait. That isn’t quite right.

When you make an emotional connection with your audience, your audience becomes receptive and attentive. That is when you can make a powerful, cogent argument that sticks and moves an audience to action.

Let me give you an example.

Our client wants their people to succeed and achieve in fantastic ways. Our client makes the assertion that they create an environment within which employees can do their best work. They use powerful videos and testimonials that highlight the achievements of team members.

But what really makes the story stick is the use of historical examples that illustrate the importance of environment and surroundings as a prerequisite for incredible results. Venice in 1400. Silicon valley in 1970. Bengaluru in 1995. If you were in those places at those times and you were very talented and worked very hard, you had the potential for incredible achievement.

Malcolm Gladwell makes a similar argument in his book Outliers: The Story of Success.

Intellectually, it is compelling. And emotionally it is where people want to go. We belong to something that is good and promising. Here I can make a difference. Here I can be successful.

When you really want to reach a crowd, connect with them emotionally. But if you want to move them to action, connect with them intellectually as well.

You have had to move and persuade. Go ahead, make us cry.