More on TMI

It seems I’m always railing against information and pushing instead for messages. It’s not that I don’t like information, or that I don’t appreciate its usefulness, it’s just that some people use too much of it. And too often they do that at the expense of their messages, which are the key points that provide the packaging for information.

Presentations that contain data dumps, brain dumps, or simply TMI are tedious, hard to follow, and certainly not memorable. But more important, consider this … information is so widely and quickly available these days that perhaps more focus should be placed on the message anyway. Creating context is more urgent. Conveying value is more urgent. Building connections and relationships are more urgent. Information alone is not urgent. It’s a commodity.

Information plays an important role in a presentation, but it’s a supporting role. If time runs out, your messages – or key points – have the starring role and can save the show!