Keep Calm and Get to the Point

by Marianne D’Alessandro

Okay, I admit I have a pet peeve.  Everyone’s time is valuable and yet, I see so much time wasted building up to the point of a presentation.  Make “the point” clear right from the beginning.

This morning, I watched a webinar replay.  I wasn’t able to watch it in “real time” and was thankful for the replay.  I listened for more than 20 minutes and still had no idea what information the speaker was passing on.  Lots of talk about credentials and a testimonial of how valuable it was to someone else, how excited they were about coming to Toronto in a few months, but 20 minutes in and I still haven’t heard exactly what the purpose of her business is and how I can apply it to my business.

I call this the false start.  You’ve started your presentation, you have the audience’s attention, and then you go off in all different directions and forget to tell the audience the point:

• what it is you are selling,
• what it is you are offering,
• what the action you want from them is.

Get to the point!  Why make your audience wait?

• Tell them immediately what it is you want them to do.
• Tell them immediately how your product or service works and why it’s beneficial to them.
• Then tell them the credentials, the testimonials, and share your stories to back up your point.

I see this over and over again especially with videos. We’ve grown to love making and watching short podcasts and videos which is fantastic.  Yet, they are often preceded by long introductions or do not offer concrete valuable information.  My favorite are the workout videos – 20 minute workout to save you time.  And yet, you’ve watched for 5-7 minutes before they actually start the workout.  How is this saving me time?  Every time I want to use this video, I need to find the start point or watch the first 5 minutes of wasted time.  Doesn’t seem like a lot of time but if I do it every day for a week, that’s 35-49 minutes of valuable time!

The average adult attention span has plummeted from 12 minutes a decade ago to just 5 minutes now, according to a Fortune.com article from last year.

I encourage you to “get to the point”.  Put yourself in the audience’s shoes and give them the valuable information upfront.  It adds value to you, it adds value to your business and services, and you’ll be appreciated for it.

Keep Calm and Get to the Point!

Marianne D'Alessandro

Marianne D’Alessandro is the owner and virtual assistant for TimeFlies-Admin Services. She takes her extensive 30+ years as an executive assistant in the corporate world and transfers t into virtual support for small to medium size business owners. Marianne’s business motto: Use my time not yours!

Marianne’s desire to support, help and volunteer has her instructing with CLC Canada – offering courses which promote confidence in public speaking and serving on the Board of Directors of Food4Kids Hamilton Halton, an organization focused on helping to eliminate child hunger in our community.

She loves giving presentations, being the organizer and right-hand person to her clients, and keeping it fun. There’s always a way to get things done and still have fun and balance in your life. Marianne offers a free TIME chat session because there’s always a way to find a bit of extra time in your day or week.