Start from the decision, not from the data
Step 1 / 2·The 'so what' question and how to prevent it
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Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Identify the decision your presentation serves
- Reverse the order in which you prepare
- Write a one-sentence core message
The 'so what' question and how to prevent it
Understand why correct data is not enough.
A report can be accurate, complete, beautifully laid out — and still get 'so what, what do we do now?'. That question is not a criticism of the data. It means the presentation stopped at description while the room needed a decision.
The cause is the order of preparation. The familiar approach: pull the data, analyse it, find something interesting, present what you found. That produces a thorough presentation that leads nowhere.
The reverse: identify the decision to be made, identify which information would change that decision, then include only what serves it. Everything else goes to the appendix.
If no decision is needed, do not meet
Some reports only update people on a situation. Send those in writing. A meeting is for deciding — with no decision, it consumes many people's time and changes nothing.