One Takeaway

When I write emails, coach my team, or address a group, I always focus on a singular takeaway. I may have multiple talking points, different objectives, and a larger agenda. However, I do my best to always tie it back to one takeaway.

In another section, I talk about “Audience.” It’s a similar point but has a different takeaway. This is about ensuring that the message or theme isn’t lost. Like the concept of “not seeing the forest through the trees,” sometimes the theme or message is painfully obvious and short. Other times, I’ll use the exact same phrase repeatedly and bluntly. I’ll remind everyone what the theme is so they know there is one takeaway.

My wife is a writer, and she once told me: “Don’t write to be understood. Write not to be misunderstood.” It’s OK if people take away more than one thing, but the worst-case scenario is someone walking away without anything, wondering, and asking themselves, “What was that meeting even about?” Very few—if any—of my meetings will ever leave someone wondering about the one takeaway.

I don’t give them five different topics when I address my team. I give them one main topic with five sub-items. If they don’t remember the sub-items but take away the headline, I did my job right. It’s my job to communicate the one takeaway effectively.

One takeaway:

Make sure everyone walks away aligned on the one takeaway.