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The Big Flaw

In more than ten years as a strategic communications trainer, I’ve seen one fatal presentation flaw more often than any other. It’s a flaw that contributes directly to nervousness, rambling, and, ultimately, epic failure, and most speakers have no idea that this flaw is ruining their presentations:

They don’t have a point.

They have what they think is a point, but it’s actually something much less.

And here’s the deal:

You have to have a point to make a point.

You have to have a point to sell your point.

You have to have a point to stay on point.

Many articles about public presentation shallowly advise you to “have a clear point” or “stick to your topic” but leave it at that. Nowhere have I seen the critical missing piece: how to formulate an actual point and convey it effectively. It’s like a nutritionist simply telling you to “eat well,” then handing you a bill. Good luck with that.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Simply put, without a point, you don’t know what you’re talking about. What you end up with—and what we see so often now in many different settings—is too many people making speeches and not enough people making points.

Once a presenter has a point, the next most important job is to effectively deliver it.

What do I mean by effectively? Simple: If the point is received, the presenter succeeds. If the point is not received, the presenter fails—regardless of any other impression made.

As you read this, you’re probably imagining a classic public speaker in front of a packed audience. But the truth is, every time you communicate, there’s always a potential point. Whether you’re giving a conference keynote speech or a Monday morning status report, talking to your mother or your manager, composing an email or creating a Power-Point, having a real point is critical to getting what you most want from that interaction.

This book will help you make the most of those moments by showing you how to identify your point, leverage it, nail it, stick to it, and sell it. It’ll also show you how to overcome presentational anxiety and train others to identify and make their own points.

Of course, knowing you need a point is useless if you don’t know what a point is . . . and most people don’t. Let’s start with the basics, kicking off with a famous “I believe.”