Even if you believe that you have already found the best solution, be sure to consider alternative solutions. If you are proposing having your department lead a change to part of the procurement process, for example, your alternatives could include having
[Proposed Solution]
Evaluation Criteria
[Alternative 1] [Alternative 2] [Alternative 3]
Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4
Run brand advertising
test
$800m (if test successful and advertising
expanded nationally) Revenue
upside
Cost
Downside risk (once committed)
$400m $800m
—
$150K for test
$100m for national advertising
$150K
$75m $100m
—
$10m $20m
—
Do nothing Invest in additional
sales effort
Run brand advertising nationally without testing
FIGURE 3.5. Solution Evaluation Example
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some other department do it, piloting the change before going ahead with the full implementation, or changing the entire procurement instead of just part of it.
There is one very common alternative, which will exist for almost every recommen- dation you make, and that is to do nothing . In fact, that is the default alternative you are fi ghting against with almost every audience. It is your task to demonstrate that doing nothing, and every other solution they can think of, is not as effective as your own solu- tion. Worksheet A.5 in Appendix A includes a place to list your solution alternatives.
Once you have chosen your preferred solution, do not discard the alternatives. You will want to include these in your presentation also. There are three reasons for this. First, many of the alternatives will already be present in the minds of your audience mem- bers ( “ Why should our department be doing this? Why not some other department? ” ) To convince them that your solution is the right one, you have to address each of the alter- natives. Your arguments against an alternative are far more powerful if you bring up the alternative fi rst, and then dispose of it, than if one of your audience members brings it up in your presentation. 8
Second, people who prefer to explore alternatives thoroughly before making decisions (Perceivers, in Myers - Briggs terms — see Chapter 1 ) are much more comfortable when you explain to them the alternatives that you have considered than when you present your recommendation without mentioning the alternatives considered. And third, if you cannot think of any reasonable alternative solutions to the problem, then perhaps the solution you are offering is rather obvious, and there is no need for a full - blown presen- tation. You might be able to save time for yourself and your audience by just calling or emailing them to tell them about it.
How Do I Handle Really Controversial Solutions?
Sometimes, though, your message is intrinsically controversial. You may have tried hard to fi nd other reasonable solutions, but the only one that works is going to be a win - lose type of solution, where one stakeholder group is going to suffer. For example, funding is going to be taken from one group and given to another, or someone ’ s pet project is going to be cancelled, or some group is going to be relocated.
How do you handle a controversial message when the “ losing ” parties are going to be in the room, and perhaps you need their agreement to proceed? The best solution I have found here is to widen the perspective of your presentation until the decision can be seen from a total system view, so that all parties can see all the factors at play and understand how your proposed solution is indeed the best overall solution. Present the problem, the alternative solutions, and the criteria for evaluating the alternatives. And then take your audience through the logic, as dispassionately as you can, so that they will see that, as painful as it is, your proposal is the right way forward.
For example, let ’ s say that the problem you have identifi ed is that the marketing depart- ment is not using their research budget very effectively, perhaps because they spend it 8 Lawyers refer to this as “ stealing
thunder. ” Experimental research concludes that when you bring up a point against your recommendation, your audience will view your position more favorably than if it were raised by someone else (Williams, Bourgeois, & Croyle, 1993).
8 Lawyers refer to this as “ stealing thunder. ” Experimental research concludes that when you bring up a point against your recommendation, your audience will view your position more favorably than if it were raised by someone else (Williams, Bourgeois, & Croyle, 1993).
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ARTICULATING THE AUDIENCE’S BUSINESS PROBLEM AND YOUR PROPOSED SOLUTION TO IT 53
only on short - term, tactical issues. Your recommendation is that this budget be trans- ferred to the market research department, so that the researchers themselves will make the decisions about what research should be done from now on. Of course, you would expect the marketing department to object vigorously to this. No one likes to have budget taken away from them, and more specifi cally they would have a concern that only they know what research needs to be done. In this case, your dispassionate approach would be to name the problem, list the alternatives, such as leave the budget where it is, make it a shared responsibility or educate marketers how to make better research invest- ment decisions. Then you would share the criteria for making the decision, which would include cost - effectiveness, speed of decision making, and return on investment on the research budget. You will then show how your solution will provide better outcomes for all involved. (Chapter 6 will show how to put all this information together in the form of a compelling story.)
What If I Just Can ’ t Get My Thoughts Straight? Using the One - Page Memo
Sometimes you will just feel completely stuck. You know you have something to say or a recommendation to make — and you know you have to give a presentation, because the date and time have been set and the audience invited — but you just cannot seem to get clear in your mind what you are trying to recommend. In a situation like this, what I have found useful is to try writing it in prose: write a brief letter or memo describing what you have in mind, either in pencil on a notepad or in a word processor.
I fi nd Procter & Gamble ’ s one - page memo format very useful for this. When I began my marketing career at P & G over twenty years ago, the one - page memo discipline was in full force. Every communication had to fi t on one page and follow a fi xed format. (It is a good example of how constraints can sometimes paradoxically be liberating. By forcing you to follow a certain format and sequence, the one - page memo frees you to think about just what you want to say.)
Here is a description of the format, with some of my own embellishments. Each one - page memo contains fi ve parts:
1. The Idea . What are you proposing — what do you want your audience to do? This is typically one sentence.
2. Background . What conditions have arisen that led you to this recommendation?
Only include information that everyone agrees on in the Background. This is the basis for discussion, so it needs to be non - debatable.
3. How It Works . The details of your proposal. In addition to How, also What, Who, When, Where.
4. Key Benefi ts . This is the “ Why ” ? There are usually three benefi ts: your recommen- dation fi ts with the organization ’ s strategy, it is already proven (e.g., in test market or in another organization), and will be profi table or cost - effective. You can think of these three in terms of the Total Quality mantra of “ doing right things right. ” The fi rst (on strategy) means you ’ re doing the right thing. The second and third
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mean you ’ re doing things the right way, because you ’ re being effective (proven to work) and effi cient (profi table).
5. Next Steps . Who has to do what, by when, and to whom, for this to happen?
The P & G sales force used something called the Persuasive Selling Format (PSF) in their sales pitches. The PSF also had fi ve steps. At some point it occurred to me that the two mapped to each other, which is why the P & G one - page memo format is so effective for making recommendations: it is a document structure that is designed to sell.
Once you ’ ve drafted this memo, you ’ ll have a better idea of exactly what you are trying to say and what you want your audience to do. You can then go back to Chapter 2 and revise your objective if necessary and continue from there. Or else you may fi nd that the memo alone will be suffi cient and that you don ’ t need a presentation. Finish it, send it out, and save yourself and your audience a lot of time.
What Do I Do If There Really Isn ’ t a Clear Solution to the Problem?
Occasionally, though, even the memo will not solve the problem for you. You will see clearly that there is a problem, but you will have no idea what your audience should do about it.
In this case, you should turn your presentation into a facilitated problem - solving session, with you as the facilitator. Your objective for the presentation will be to get the audience to think through an issue that they are facing that they haven ’ t been thinking about.
Right at the beginning, tell them that you are going to present a serious problem that they have, to which you do not have an answer, and then you would like to facilitate a discussion to generate some ideas on how it could be solved. Take them through the details of the problem, and then present a few (three to fi ve) critical questions for them to discuss. Do your best to provide at least preliminary answers to each question, and try to include more than one answer to each question, so that they can see that you truly mean to explore alternatives. As you work through these, ask them to react to the alter- natives you have included, and see whether they can think of any others.
Interestingly, the results of a facilitated discussion like this can be very effective. When audiences draw their own conclusions, the effect is much stronger than if the conclusions are presented to them. 9
Peter Norvig, author of the hilarious (and profound) PowerPoint version of Abraham Lincoln ’ s Gettysburg Address, argues that “ If everyone has set their remarks in stone ahead of time (all using the same templates) then there is little room for the comments of one to build on another, or for a new idea to arise collaboratively from the meeting. . . . Use visual aids to convey visual information: photographs, charts, or diagrams. But do not use them to give the impression that the matter is solved, wrapped up in a few bullet points. ” 10
Self - persuasion is so effective that it is worth considering making every presentation interactive in this way, even when you have a clear idea about what you want your 9 According to Armstrong ’ s review
of the literature on persuasion, this is particularly true for conditions under which you have:
an intelligent audience, expected resistance, a presenter who is perceived as biased, and when the objective is to change important beliefs (Armstrong, forthcoming) 9 According to Armstrong ’ s review of the literature on persuasion, this is particularly true for conditions under which you have:
an intelligent audience, expected resistance, a presenter who is perceived as biased, and when the objective is to change important beliefs (Armstrong, forthcoming)
10 See Norvig (2003). His Gettysburg PowerPoint presentation is available at http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/
10 See Norvig (2003). His Gettysburg PowerPoint presentation is available at http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/
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ARTICULATING THE AUDIENCE’S BUSINESS PROBLEM AND YOUR PROPOSED SOLUTION TO IT 55
audience to do. If you do this, the essential thing is not to be disingenuous: never pretend that you do not know the answer and that you want your audience ’ s input if, in fact, you do know it and don ’ t want their input. What you should do instead is state your recom- mendation clearly, and then ask for input. The discussion that follows, if you are open to their input and fl exible enough to incorporate it, is a good opportunity for self - persuasion in the audience. But this will only work if you are truly open to input! You have to be as willing to allow your own ideas to be modifi ed as you are expecting your audience to be willing to allow theirs to be modifi ed. Otherwise, you will come across as fake and manipulative. 11
The one place to “ hide the ball ” is when you have a very strong point — solidly backed up by evidence — that is counter - intuitive. In that case, fi rst ask your audience what their opinion is. Ideally, have them write it down or at least check off some alternative. For example, you might ask them: “ Which of the following options do you think would be the most costly for us? Please mark the one you think is most costly. ” Then present the answer and your evidence for it. This way they can see that they were wrong and have to rethink their beliefs on this. If they did not make a mark, they will likely just think “ I knew that ” and move on — and then forget this new information. By showing them that they need to rethink, you will increase the likelihood that they do so.
The Importance of Being Audience - Focused
It is very important in this step — as it is throughout the entire ten - step process — to be completely audience - focused. Your presentation should be all about serving your audi- ence. You need to show them that you see everything from their perspective — their problem, in their terms, their motivations and issues. This also means that you have to be bound by their constraints. There is no point in raising an important problem and proposing new investments to solve it if your audience just does not have any money to spend this year.
Otherwise, you are just playing a game: you present an important problem and recom- mend the theoretically correct solution. They smile and thank you for your astute analysis. And then they do nothing. The reality is that most people do want to achieve something for themselves or for their organization. You need to focus on that and help them to overcome the problems that get in the way of that achievement. If you frequently present to the same audience — if you are a trainer, researcher, analyst, consultant — you want to become known as someone who helps to solve problems, not just as a provider of data. Problem - solvers are liked, respected, and rewarded. Providers of data are often looked down upon or just ignored.
Which one do you want to be? The choice is yours.
At this point, you should have a clear idea of a serious problem that your audience has and what solution you are proposing for it. But what information do we actually have to present to them to convince them of this? Turn to Chapter 4 to answer this question.
11 Aronson (1999) has also found that self - persuasion is far more powerful than being persuaded by others.
11 Aronson (1999) has also found that self - persuasion is far more powerful than being persuaded by others.
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57
Marshalling 4
Your Evidence
Step 4: List All the Information That You Think You May Need to Include in Your Presentation
List all the information — all the support, reasons, evidence — that is relevant to your solution. Think of this as a brain - dump of everything that might go into your presenta- tion. You can list everything in Worksheet A.6 in Appendix A or just on a blank piece of paper. See the example in Figure 4.1 .
Evidence
1. Brand equity study data
2. Quotes from customer interviews 3. Quote from Hyperbrand
4. Salesforce impact study
5. Other unfunded priority projects 6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
FIGURE 4.1. Example of an Information Brain-Dump
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Include all the information you can think of that supports your recommendations, and also evidence against your recommendations — because you are going to have to deal with this information somehow, so you cannot just ignore it.
Try to collect information broadly, from several different sources, not just the project you are working on. Don ’ t worry about the order of your list of information, or whether it is quantitative or merely anecdotal, at this point. Just list everything that you can think of: basically all the information you can think of that is relevant to your solution.
The rest of this chapter will explain in detail:
What kinds of evidence to include to strengthen the persuasiveness of your presentation
What kinds of evidence are likely to weaken your presentation and therefore should be avoid ed
Where to look for evidence