KISS! (Keep it Simple, Stupid!)
How can you simplify your presentation content?
The Heath brothers discussed six principles to successful ideas. Principles of sticky ideas do have things in common and guess what, they can also be applied to presentations. The six principles are: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional and Story. They can be compacted into the acronym SUCCESs which is quite memorable. What did they say about simplicity?
Simplicity is about finding the core message. It’s about elegance and prioritization. When we think of a great and simple design, we always think of companies like Apple. Boy! oh Boy! They’ve mastered the art of simplicity.
If you’re creating a personal profile presentation, start with the most interesting and essential facts about you (aka: your summary). Use big and buzzy words like: seasoned professional, extensive experience, established relationships and connections, etc.
If you want to make your presentation simple, you need to start with a blank canvas. We all start creating a presentation staring at a blank slide wondering what we should begin with. Try answering these two questions first:
(1) If I present nothing else during the presentation, I must ______.
(2) The single, most important thing that I must talk about is ______.
If you can answer these two questions, you’ve mastered finding the core. Simplicity is like a muscle that needs to be exercised. You might feel uncomfortable but the more you practice it, the better you get at it.
One way of achieving simplicity, is following the inverted pyramid principle. It is great for your audience no matter what their attention span is. Start your presentation with your lead, getting your most powerful idea out the door first. Always think like entrepreneurs trying to pitch their ideas to a group of investors.
Another way to achieve simplicity is using proverbs. They are the “Holy Grail” of simplicity. Surprisingly, you’ll find a lot of proverbs that are shared across cultures. It turns out they are helpful in guiding people to make decisions based on shared values and standards. They are the ultimate rules of thumb.
If you’re proposing a solution and your audience is stuck in the choice paradox, a phrase like “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” can shift their thinking. Using relatable and tangible content can make a lot of difference.
Have you heard of the term: KISS — “Keep it Simple, Stupid!”?
If there’s anything that I want you to take away from this quick and simple read (pun intended), it’s this design thinking concept. If you were asked to create a presentation to empower women, and you’re not sure what to put on your slides or what to focus on, think of the story you’re trying to tell and repeat this “It’s diversity, stupid!”.
In the words of Heath Brothers, “If we’re to succeed, the first step is this: Be simple. Not simple in terms of ‘dumbing down’ or ‘sound bites.’ You don’t have to speak in monosyllables to be simple. What we mean by ‘simple’ is finding the core of the idea. Finding the core means stripping an idea down to its most critical essence.”
Thoughts?
Can you think of a proverb and see if other cultures have another version of it? What does that mean to you?
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