Our 3X3 Methodology

Our 3X3 Methodology

We follow our very own 3X3 methodology, which requires the speaker to limit the presentation to 3 core messages (the audience won’t remember anything beyond), supporting each message with 3 elements.

The Objective element

The Objective element uses external sources to corroborate your message. You might quote from a relevant expert by saying, “This isn’t just my opinion, it’s shared by so-and-so, a great expert/psychologist/economist who researched the subject and discovered that…”. Or, you might quote from your own market research/analysis, saying “As our research demonstrates without a doubt, what our consumers want is…”. Remember that the Objective element doesn’t always have to involve big numbers. Talking about “2 out of 3 people” is far easier to comprehend than “66% of our target audience”. And one last thing: If you have an important number you want to discuss, DO NOT blur it’s importance with some sprawling graph of endless numbers. Help your audience, by showing it in big, bold letters at the center of the slide.

The Human element

The human element elicits emotions to support a message. There’s nothing more effective than appealing to people’s emotions. Let’s say your message is exactly about this fact – that people make decisions based on emotions. You could certainly do so by sharing chart after chart of mind numbing data. Alternatively, you could try the human approach, saying something like: “We’ve all been there – you present your hard work, and the person in front of you says, ‘The numbers line up, but it just doesn’t feel right’. What, you wonder, do feelings have to do with it? Well folks, the truth is, people based some of their most important decisions on ‘what feels right’, and not on numbers”. Here’s another example: Let’s say your message is that people use smartphones more than they do computers. You could use graphs and tables to illustrate your point. Nothing however, captures your audience attention better then asking them if they’ve ever found themselves sitting at their office desk while scrolling on Facebook on their mobile.

The Spicy element

In most cases, the human element and objective element combined are enough to make a compelling case. The Spicy element however, will drive your message home making it truly memorable. Say you’ve established that decision-making is highly influenced by emotions, now is a good time to share the story of the time you’ve mentioned it to your boss, and her response was – “Despite your great performance, I feel it’s time to let you go”. If you’ve discussed the subject of smartphones vs. computers, tell the audience how trying to discipline your children by taking away their computer privileges, ends up with them pulling out their  smartphones without batting an eyelash. Better yet, ask the audience: “If your house burns down, what will you save first – your phone, your computer, or your spouse?”