The One-Point Principle for Successful Marketing Presentations That Stick
We’ve all been there—sitting through a presentation that feels more like a form of torture than an opportunity to learn. You’re staring at slides overloaded with text, trying to read while the speaker drones on, and before you’ve made sense of it, they’ve already moved to the next one.
Now, as I look around the room, I see the signs:
-Someone typing word-for-word notes, likely missing the speaker’s key points.
-Someone else scrolling on their phone.
-And—wait—is that person asleep? Surely not. But… maybe.
It’s not that we aren’t interested. We just aren’t engaged. And that’s the real problem.
This is where the One-Point Principle comes in to create marketing presentations that actually stick with your audience long after you’ve finished speaking. At its core, this principle is simple: focus each presentation, and each slide, on communicating one clear, compelling message.
Why Bad Presentations Fail—Every Time
When discussing how to market your marketing, I often talk about the importance of considering your audience—understanding their goals and showing how the work supports them. But even if your content is solid, how you deliver it matters just as much. If your audience has to struggle to follow your point, you may as well skip the presentation altogether.
And here’s the hard truth: “If you leave your audience confused about what your point is, they will wonder if you even have a point at all.” (Lisa Cron, Story or Die)
Let’s break down the most common presentation mistakes that lead to disengagement and dilute your One Point
The Biggest Presentation Mistakes
Measuring Time by Slide Count
I will die on this hill: The number of slides in your deck should never be how you control your presentation length.
I once sat through a three-slide presentation that lasted an hour. It was brutal precisely because there was no clear One Point to focus on—just endless talking around lots of different metrics and topics.
Slides aren’t the enemy. Overloading them—or talking too long without reinforcing your One Point—is.
Cramming Too Many Points on a Slide
I get it. Someone set a slide limit, and now you’re in panic mode, trying to squeeze everything onto a few slides. But here’s the problem:
-Your audience will try to read what’s in front of them.
-At the same time, they’re listening to you talk.
That’s two competing tasks. Instead of absorbing your One Point, they’re working to decipher it. And that’s a fast track to disengagement.
The Eye Chart Slide
Yes, data is important. No, your audience should not have to decode an entire Excel spreadsheet mid-presentation.
If your slide looks like an eye exam, you’re forcing your audience to guess what’s relevant. They’ll either check out completely or get lost trying to figure out what your One Point is—neither of which helps your message land.
The “Robot Voice” Presenter
I once accidentally turned on the text-to-speech function on my laptop. It read my emails in a flat, monotone voice, with no pauses or emphasis. It was awful.
And yet… that’s exactly how some presenters sound when they read straight from their notes.
When you strip away natural speech patterns—pauses, inflection, energy—you make it incredibly hard for your audience to stay engaged. A presentation should feel like a conversation, not an audiobook you regret downloading. Your One Point needs emphasis and energy to stick.
Fixing These Mistakes with the One-Point Principal
Start with “The One Thing”
Before you even create a single slide, ask yourself:
If my stakeholders could only remember one thing from this presentation, what would it be?
That’s your guiding star. Every slide should support that core message.
And when it comes to individual slides? Same rule applies:
– Each slide should have one clear takeaway.
– If you have two points, make two slides.
– If a point is complex, give it space.
Let’s say I’m presenting on the success of an email campaign.
If my audience is already familiar with open and click rates, I can list these metrics on one slide with my One Point being: “Our email performance exceeded industry benchmarks.”
But if I’m explaining why each of those metrics can be considered vanity metrics, I need to break that down into a slide for each metric.
Otherwise, I’ll lose my audience while they’re still deciphering the first point instead of understanding my One Point: “We need to move beyond vanity metrics to true business impact.”
Visuals, Where The One-Point Can Go Too Far
Your slides should support your words—not be your words. When we focus on The One Point on our slide, we don’t want that to mean that we put our script on the slide. To fully support our One Point, we need visuals and words to work together to create a mental image for your audience.
Instead of this:
“Email open rates increased by 15% quarter over quarter, click-through rates improved by 8%, and conversions went up 12% resulting in $450,000 in additional revenue.”
Try this:
ONE POINT: Email campaign drove $450K in new revenue
[Simple chart showing the progression from opens to clicks to conversions with $ impact]
Make It Easy for Your Audience to Remember Your One Point
Your job as a presenter isn’t just to deliver information—it’s to make sure your audience gets your One Point. If they have to work too hard to follow you, they won’t.
Remember: Great presentations aren’t about flashy slides or endless bullet points. They transform your message from forgettable data dumps into powerful storytelling tools that center around your One Point. When you prioritize your One Point, you help your stakeholders more easily visualize the value of your marketing strategy and build your reputation as a strategic partner.
The One-Point Takeaway
If there’s just one thing you remember from this article (see what I did there?), make it this: Before your next presentation, ask yourself, “What’s the One Point I need my audience to remember?” Then build everything else around making that point impossible to forget.
Let your One Point be the North Star that guides every slide, every example, and every minute of your presentation time. Your audience—and your marketing reputation—will thank you for it.
