THE TOOLKIT
Headlines
One of the most common mistakes made in delivering a message is doing so without a headline. Headlines are also referred to as a governing thought, main idea, or central point. The idea is to take the complex and make it simple. The way to do this is to sum up your data, facts, figures, graphs, charts, speaking points, solutions, and recommendations into one sentence. Make it simple by boiling down your message into an overarching theme or point. Every message has one. It is the job of a professional to uncover it and communicate it. Below are examples of informative and persuasive headlines.
Informative
- “This is an update on our software integration with our new service partner.”
- “We’re here to discuss the Robinson-Doby merger as everything is moving forward.”
- “I want to provide an overview of our 6-month marketing plan.”
- “I thought it would be beneficial to look at several new trends we’re seeing.”
- “Our upcoming client meeting is very important, so I’d like to review our strategy.”
- “We will review your overall performance for the last year including project and people management responsibilities.”
Persuasive
- “I propose we invest $1.5M over the next six months in a generative AI application.”
- “I believe we need to rethink our business management process for tracking incoming inventory.”
- “I think we should go with Kreative Khaos’ marketing campaign for this years media and social spend.”
- “I would like to revamp our onboarding process and make it more consistent and personable.”
- “We should reduce our project investment by 10% over the next two quarters to get back in budget.”
Prompts
One technique that helps craft a clear, concise headline is a prompt. A prompt is a short phrase that helps your sentence lead into the point you are trying to make. It avoids extraneous fillers and tingents. It helps get to the heart of your message. Here are examples of both informative and persuasive prompts:
Informative
- Let’s talk about…
- The main point is…
- You need to know…
- The bottom-line is…
- We’re here to discuss…
- We need to talk about…
- The issue on the table is…
- The solution on the table is…
- The topic I want to share is…
- Let’s take some time to discuss…
- I want to take a few minutes to debrief you around…
Persuasive
- I suggest we…
- I think we should…
- Here’s what I think…
- I believe we should…
- We should consider…
- My recommendation is…
- The first move could be…
- The direction we should take is…
- Based on the research, we ought to…
- Moving forward, the best course of action is…