My good friend Jim Farrell suggested I write about the importance of brevity and clarity when creating a presentation, and answering the question “So What?” What is the point you are trying to drive home and for what purpose. Why is it important? If the audience does not immediately understand your point, then fix it or get rid of it. If you present a fact or a statement, you need to make sure the presentation answers the question “so what?” The audience requires context, but they also require a filter to ensure the point is worth making, and is relevant or important?
Too often, presentations are loaded with data or features. It either indicates that the presenter is not sure what is important, so they throw it all against the wall and hope that something sticks, or they think that if they present all of the minutia and data they will appear to have a deep command of their subject. In either case, they leave it up to the audience to figure out what is important, and that rarely goes well. We call this “show up and throw up.”
Answering the ‘so what’ question is particularly important when creating a board presentation because board members are not in the day-to-day operations, and need management to filter out the minutia and guide the board to focus on what matters. The same is true in a sales presentation. The prospect needs a clear and concise understanding of your unique value proposition and competitive differentiation. Whatever you present needs to answer the ‘so what’ question for the audience.
As I thought about this topic, it reminded me of what I have called the democratization of leadership and the importance of applying the same ‘so what’ filter to internal presentations. As an organization grows, there are increasing layers of management and increasing specialization of roles. The further we get from the source of the information, the more it loses context and becomes distorted and shaded by opinion. If we reserve decision making to the top of the hierarchy, we are basing decisions on watered down information. Instead of flowing all of the data to the top of the organization and waiting for an answer or decision to come down from the mountain, it becomes increasingly important to move decision making closer to information and empower more people to take the lead and responsibility for decisions.
When we move authority to make decisions closer to the source of the information, we can increase efficiency and leverage a deeper understanding of the data, but, as it is said, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ Leaders have to develop confidence and trust before they are willing to let go of decision making authority. To get there, we need concise communication and presentations that answer the ‘so what’ questions, and make senior leaders believe in the presenter’s grasp of the information.
The three underlying questions a presenter has to answer are: “What do you think?” “Why do you think that?” and “What would you like to do about it?” We want individuals to demonstrate that they have an understanding of the situation and an opinion, so the first question is “what do you think?” It requires thinking, and observation, and an understanding of the goals and objectives so that we know your opinion is informed.
The second question is “why do you think that?” The answer to this question will elicit the inputs and reasoning behind the answer to the first question. It should illuminate the presenter’s logic and understanding of the situation, and it can open the door to dialog and sharing differing perspectives.
Lastly, question 3 asks “what would you like to do about it?” This is really the meat of the ‘so what’ test. If there is no action or decision to be taken, then what was the reason for presenting the information in the first place? Even if it is just a status update, there must be a reason for presenting it and a next step to be taken, otherwise ‘so what?'
Answering the ‘so what’ question is a powerful communication tool. At all levels and in all situations, we need to ask the question so that we test the relevance and importance of what we are communicating. Nobody wants to sit through a lengthy presentation or detailed demo only to get to the end and be left with a feeling of ‘so what?’ The presenter owes it to the listener to filter the presentation content and guide the discussion by answering the question and eliminating superfluous content.