Writing Briefs That Capture Stakeholder Attention

Imagine you've performed an in-depth analysis and uncovered an incredible insight. You’re now excited to share your findings with an influential group of stakeholders. You’ve been meticulous, eliminating biases, double-checking your logic, and ensuring your conclusions are sound. But even with all this diligence, there’s one common pitfall that could diminish the impact of your insights: information overload. In our excitement, we sometimes flood stakeholders with excessive details, dense reports, cluttered dashboards, and long presentations filled with too much information. The result is confusion, disengagement, and inaction. Insights are not our children, we don’t have to love them equally. To truly drive action, we must isolate and emphasize the insights that matter most—those that directly address the problem statement and have the highest impact. Here’s how to present insights effectively to ensure clarity, engagement, and action: ✅ Start with the Problem – Frame your insights around the problem statement. If stakeholders don’t see the relevance, they won’t care about the data. ✅ Prioritize Key Insights – Not all insights are created equal. Share only the most impactful findings that directly influence decision-making. ✅ Tell a Story, Not Just Show Data– Structure your presentation as a narrative: What was the challenge? What did the data reveal? What should be done next? A well-crafted story is more memorable than a raw data dump. ✅ Use Clean, Intuitive Visuals – Data-heavy slides and cluttered dashboards overwhelm stakeholders. Use simple, insightful charts that highlight key takeaways at a glance. ✅ Make Your Recommendations Clear– Insights without action are meaningless. End with specific, actionable recommendations to guide decision-making. ✅ Encourage Dialogue, Not Just Presentation – Effective communication is a two-way street. Invite questions and discussions to ensure buy-in from stakeholders. ✅ Less is More– Sometimes, one well-presented insight can be more powerful than ten slides of analysis. Keep it concise, impactful, and decision-focused. Before presenting, ask yourself: Am I providing clarity or creating confusion? The best insights don’t just inform—they inspire action. What strategies do you use to make your insights more actionable? Let’s discuss! P.S: I've shared a dashboard I reviewed recently, and thought it was overloaded and not actionably created

Capturing the attention of senior-executives is no walk-in-the-park… but, it’s achievable with an executive summary! Today’s fast-paced business culture has senior executives SWAMPED. Being a CEO, I know how busy things get & like other senior leaders… …I need to be able to grasp proposals, reports, and projects *quickly.* Early in my career, I found the value in crafting effective executive summaries. It’s been the key to navigating up the corporate ladder— and connecting seamlessly with leadership. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to capturing attention. It’s all contingent on how you tailor your summary to the leader… Here are 3 proven formats that are bound to 100% grab their attention: 1️⃣ SCR (Situation-Complication-Resolution) -> Situation: Start with the current scenario. -> Complication: Introduce the challenges. -> Resolution: Present the solution and its benefits. Ex: “Our marketing campaign is underperforming (Situation). The primary issue is poor targeting (Complication). Adopting a data-driven approach will increase engagement and ROI (Resolution). 2️⃣ RSC (Resolution-Situation-Complication) -> Resolution: Begin with the outcome. -> Situation: Describe the initial problem. -> Complication: Highlight the challenges faced. Ex: “Our solution increased user engagement by 40% (Resolution). At first, interactions were declining (Situation). We overcame resistance to change and used user research (Complication).” 3️⃣ CSR (Complication-Situation-Resolution) -> Complication: Start with the challenges. -> Situation: Describe the context. -> Resolution: Highlight the solution. Ex: “Revenue was declining due to competition (Complication). Traditional marketing strategies were ineffective (Situation). A digital-first approach increased sales by 20% (Resolution).” Master these formats, and craft executive summaries that captivate senior leadership in a way THEY want (and have time) to hear.

Project managers, your stakeholder's time is your budget Every email. Every slide deck. Every meeting invite. It all costs them attention. And just like money, attention is limited. If you flood them with noise, you dilute your influence. If you curate with intention, you build trust. Protect your stakeholders' attention while maximizing your impact. Here's how: ✅ Cut the fluff Status updates should not be a novel. Get to the point in the first sentence. What's changed, what's next, what's needed. Give more detail below if they want to get more context (optional). ✅ Match the medium to the message Not every update needs a meeting. Not every decision needs a 20-slide deck. Right-size your communication to boost value. ✅ Give them the headline, not the transcript Execs don't have time to sift through details. Give them the distilled version that helps them act. Tip: tailor your communication to each leader based on what they need to know. ✅ Use their language Translate team jargon into terms they care about. Risk, cost, value, timeline, next steps. ✅ End with clarity Every touchpoint should answer: "what do you need from me?" If nothing, say that too (and cancel the touchpoint). Protect your stakeholders' attention. So that you can earn more of it. 🤙