Make the problem you are presenting easier for your listener to navigate.

Some of the best advice I ever got about presenting ideas to executives was from a director who implored me to use what he called the ‘introclusion.’ That is the introduction + conclusion = introclusion.

When you need to present an idea clearly to someone who is busy, overwhelmed or easily distracted, it helps if you start off by clearly stating a quick introduction to the topic and then tell them what your conclusion or suggested solution is upfront.

What?

In school, we are taught to remain as objective as possible. We are instructed to progressively layout a thought or argument, allowing the reader to slowly follow along and form an opinion. We need to make a clear case to bring the reader to our way of thinking before stating our conclusion.

So this idea of stating introduction and conclusion together, in the opening, seems to break all the rules we worked so hard to master in writing class.

Why?

In business, to be successful, one must get messages across as quickly and succinctly as possible so the listener (executive, manager or colleague) can follow along. If you ramble or take too long to get to the point, you will lose them. If you tell them what they should think you anchor them on your opinion-making it easier for them to follow your argument.

Works for interviews too

I learned to use this technique to help battle my propensity to over-explain the details on very technical products. I was notorious for taking forever to get to the point and so I lost my listeners and readers. Turns out, I found the rule works for interviews too.

It helps most in behavioral interviews. If asked how you set a goal that took forever, don’t just jump into the situation/task section. Give a quick summary of the problem and the result. I am going to tell you about a time I set a goal that took 2 years to accomplish and helped keep me and the team on track by doing X. (setting interim goals, reporting milestones, celebrating milestones, logging learnings, etc.)