"You can't convince anyone of anything. You can only give them the right information, so they can convince themselves."
Eben Pagan
Jackson was nervous for his presentation in front of the CEO, COO and CIO. He needed to convince all of them to take on a new product idea that could generate more sales for the company and improve its sluggish performance. He always loved the details of his project work and so he began his presentation explaining how his department would launch the marketing plan that would make the new product a company-wide success. He wanted to impress his boss and others that he really had thought of everything. As he began to explain the plan, he noticed how quickly his audience began to lose interest in his presentation. They would interrupt him with questions of why he thought the product would be successful. The CFO wanted to know what facts he found that supported the idea of creating this new product. Jackson was confused. He thought he would cover the details of his implementation strategy first to show his thoroughness and the responses to "why" and "what" would follow later. The meeting ended with many of the executives firing questions he was not prepared to answer.
Where did Jackson go wrong? Very simply, he began his presentation in an area called "how". He started his pitch with how he would accomplish a new product launch instead of "why" he was considering even launching the product at all. Jackson liked the "how". He felt comfortable with the "how". He assumed others would want to know the "how" first.
Don't get me wrong, the "how" of any idea's implementation is critical to its success but the time to address the "how" is at the end of your presentation and not at the beginning.
Let me show you what I mean. Anytime you want to convince someone of your viewpoint or your idea, you must start with the "why". Why do you think this idea/concept/product is the right move at this time? What is the 30,000 foot high view of this idea/concept/product or service? Answering this first phase or "why" phase is how you set the tone for the next phase.
The second phase answers the "what" portion of the idea. What facts, figures or numbers are supporting your "why"? These quantitative descriptors are critical to supporting the reason and basis for trying something new. For instance, in the example of Jackson above, he would have fared much better by starting out saying we need to take on this new product because the facts and numbers are showing that consumers are changing their behaviors to support the new idea.
The third phase of making a convincing presentation is explaining the "who". In other words, who is going to be impacted by the "why" and "what" of this new idea/concept/product or service? This would involve end users, vendors, co-workers, etc.
Finally, in the fourth phase is the place to answer the "how". How will this new idea be rolled out? What details might be included to lessen the impact on the "who" so that the "what" and "why" are successful?
To recap, follow this order:
Why is this a good idea?
What facts, numbers and trends support this new idea?
Who will be impacted by this idea?
How would you launch and sustain this new idea?
Question for You:
Do you find it difficult to convince others of your ideas? Do you find it difficult to lay out your ideas in a logical format that builds on itself?
Action for You:
Start your presentations by answering "why" your idea is solid. Support the "why" with the "what" or facts and numbers showing your idea is right on target. Move next to "who" it will affect and finish with "how" it may be implemented. Be careful of jumping into any of these phases in the wrong order. The order of why, what, who and how is critical to building your story, a story that when told correctly, will lead to better success.
