4 Tactics to Achieving Simplicity in Messaging

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I’ve been working with a couple of clients on their “who are we” pitch. For many technical founders its one of the hardest things to communicate, and it makes a ton of sense. Many technical founders have created this technically amazing thing. It’s complex because these days tech can’t just be simple, technology these days is used to solve complex problems, so the tech is complicated.

So, creating a simple message is hard. And yet, if you can’t explain it quickly, you’ll never get the attention of investors or customers. Here are a few ways you can try to simplify the message:

  1. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes: Think about why and how your customers could use your product. Think about their pains and how your product makes their lives easier. It might not always be that you save them money or time, maybe you just make their daily tasks less tedious.

  2. Use an analogy that 80% of your audience will understand: Look at your audience (prospects or investors) and have a couple of analogies that work well for them, either how they work, or their hobbies, or how they interact with businesses, how they parent or manage their own parents. One of the best analogies I ever heard included a washing machine breaking. That’s something nearly everyone can relate to. Think about something that most everyone can relate to. An analogy that most people can relate to, makes your business real. It’s easier to invest in or purchase something new.

  3. Explain it to your mother or grandfather: An analogy here can be really helpful, but if you can’t find one, be able to explain the solution to your parent or grandparent (depending how old you are). The point of this is simplicity in your message makes it easy for someone so far away from the problem and solution to STILL see the value.

    • Have them explain it back to you: The second part of this is that they have to be able to explain it back to you. This means that they aren’t just nodding that they understand, but that they really understand what your product does. They often use analogies to explain complex things, so they might be able to get you to a useable analogy as well.

  4. Tell a real-life story: If you are lucky enough to have a real-life user that’s finding value in your product. Use this story about their life before your solution and then after. Explain 2-3 things that your user has found the most valuable.

Any of these tactics can help you communicate your message successfully. In the end, it’s up to the person who has to do the pitch to use the one that works best for them. Have other tactics worked better for you? What are they?