KISS it Goodbye

You've prepared thoroughly. You know your material inside out. You're ready to make your case.

 Then you watch your audience's eyes glaze over by slide three.

 The problem isn't your content, it's your delivery. When we have something important to say, we often try to say everything at once. We pack in context, caveats, supporting data, and background information. We're thorough. We're comprehensive. We're also losing the room.

 The KISS principle—Keep It Simple, Stupid—has been a marketing cornerstone for decades. But it applies far beyond advertising. Every time you communicate with your team, pitch to stakeholders, or have a crucial conversation at home, the same rule holds: clarity beats comprehensiveness.

Start with Your Audience, Not Your Agenda

 The instinct when presenting something important is to lead with what matters to you, your research, your reasoning, your journey to this conclusion. But your audience is asking a different question: What does this mean for me?

Effective communicators flip the script. Before crafting any message, they ask:

 o   What does my audience already know about this topic?

o   What do they need to understand to make a decision?

o   What's the one thing I want them to remember tomorrow?

 This isn't manipulation, it's respect. You're valuing their time by giving them what's relevant, not everything you know. 

The practical shift: Before your next presentation, write down the three things your audience cares most about. Then structure your message around those concerns, not your content outline.

Create a Hook That Earns Attention

 Attention isn't given, it's earned. The first thirty seconds of any communication determine whether your audience leans in or checks out.

 Strong openings share common traits:

 They surprise. A counterintuitive fact, an unexpected question, a challenge to conventional thinking

They connect: A story your audience recognises, a problem they've experienced, a goal they share

They promise value. A clear signal that what follows will be worth their time

 Visual elements, hands-on demonstrations, and sensory details can amplify your hook—but only if they serve the message. A clever opening that doesn't connect to your core point is just a distraction.

The practical shift: Write your opening last. Once you know exactly what you're saying, you'll know exactly how to draw people in.

The Rule of Three

 Our brains are pattern-seeking machines, and three is the smallest number that creates a pattern. This is why effective messages cluster around three key points:

1.    State your point clearly. No preamble, no excessive context, just the idea.

2.    Support it with evidence. One strong example beats three weak ones.

3.    Reinforce it with a call to action. What should your audience do with this information?

 When you have more than three points, you don't have a focused message, you have a list. Lists are forgettable. Patterns stick.

 The practical shift: If you can't reduce your message to three core ideas, you haven't finished thinking it through.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Mike had been preparing his budget proposal for weeks. His spreadsheet had seventeen tabs. His slide deck ran to forty-three pages. He knew every number, every assumption, every contingency.

 His CFO gave him fifteen minutes.

 The old Mike would have tried to compress everything, speaking faster and cutting slides on the fly. Instead, he opened with a single question: "What would it mean for the business if we could reduce customer acquisition costs by 18%?"

 He presented three initiatives. He supported each with one data point. He closed by asking for a decision.

 The CFO approved the budget in twelve minutes and asked Mike to present the same approach to the executive team.

 The Conversation After the Presentation

 Here's what most communicators miss: the presentation isn't the goal. The conversation it creates is.

When you keep your message tight, you leave room for questions, discussion, and genuine engagement. Your audience becomes a participant, not a passive recipient. They remember what they contributed, not just what they heard.

 Leave behind materials that extend the conversation, a one-page summary, a thought-provoking question, a clear next step. Follow up with additional detail for those who want it. But in the room, keep it simple.

 Start With One Conversation

 The next time you need to communicate something important, to your team, your stakeholders, or your family, resist the urge to say everything.

 Ask yourself: What's the one thing I want them to remember? Start there. Build around it. Stop when you've made your point.

 Clarity isn't about dumbing things down. It's about respecting your audience enough to give them what matters.