Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
The Tale of Three Tells!
I'm always working on proposals for new business. Usually I do a combination proposal and presentation in PowerPoint. A couple of weeks ago, after delivering one such sales presentation, one of the prospects came up to me and said: "I really enjoyed your presentation, and thought it was very effective. I think I really understand what you're offering and how you're differentiated from your competitors, but it seemed to me like you told us pretty much the same thing three different ways. Why did you do that?"I smiled, and then explained to him that I always did exactly that, that it was something I first learned as a training program manager in the Navy's Department of Redundancy Department--the first rule of training design: tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you told them.
This simple little idea can help you both design your presentation--by making sure you've identified and organized your key messages--as well as then increasing your chances of actually delivering those messages to your intended audience.
The first tell lets your audience know what's coming; it clues them into what's important, and sets little subliminal traps for the key messages you hope to get across. If you know you're going to be told about content management and why it's important, then when you actually get to that part of the presentation you're …
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Women, poets, and especially artists, like cats; delicate natures only can realize their sensitive nervous systems. - Helen M. Winslow |