War Stories Archive
An investment firm spent several days preparing an important new business presentation. The Portfolio Manager and Director of Marketing slaved over the book, rewriting it several times as they rehearsed its delivery page by page. On the day, the Director of Marketing opened strong. Things seemed to be going well until he was informed that time was unexpectedly tight. The marketer then rushed the remainder of his comments, transitioning to the Portfolio Manager, who raced through her description of the investment process. Both stuck to the book, covering all the points as originally planned — at warp speed. Both nervously punctuated their comments, several times, with phrases such as “As time is now tight.”
This presentation team should have (1) ditched the book, (2) condensed their comments without repeated (time-consuming) references to time, and (3) avoided speed-talking. Despite their diligent preparation, the impression they left was a big blur: no clear message, no clear theme, no clear call to action. And, naturally, no new business!
Moral: Cut to the chase.