Whether you are making a pitch to a new client or presenting to your stakeholders, it’s important to tell it compellingly. It’s about conveying a message clearly and simply and connecting with your audience on a human level. In this article, I’ll lay out why memorable titles, in particular, play a key role in this aspect.
You might not pay much attention to the titles in hopes that the content below will help tell the story. But actually, your titles can help people remain engaged slide after slide because sometimes that’s all they may be able to read. Some best practices that I have formed around writing impactful titles to keep them as effective and as engaging as possible.
Grab your audiences’ attention with impact
Keep them short so that it can create an impression on the audience quickly. If the audience is promised the benefits or some key point/s in the title then this will help them relate immediately. Newspaper headlines do this all the time to grab people’s attention. They lead with a clever headline or an attractive piece of information to hook people in.
Example 1:
Redesigning the call log feature
VS
Example 2:
Call log redesign drives consistent experiences
Example 1 tells me that the content will be about some updates on the redesign of the new call log feature, while example 2 informs people about the redesign and also tells them about its benefit. With this, the readers already know what to expect and what impact it will have on a product. In this case, ‘redesign will create consistency across platforms’ is the hook.
Convey the story
If a person from the audience is distracted by an important message or is pulled out for an urgent call and if all they take away are a few titles, it will be enough for them to remember the story you are trying to share. It helps the reader anchor. One way to test if your titles are conveying the story is to write the titles of individual slides on a blank slide and read them slide by slide on their own without any content and see if the titles can hold ground on their own.
Example 1:
Upcoming updates to the new call log feature
VS
Example 2:
Improvements to the call log feature will provide an edge over our competitors
Example 1 tells the audience that some updates are coming to the call log feature, but that doesn’t inform the viewer anything new because it’s normal to have updates to a feature. Example 2, on the other hand, informs people about the updates and how these updates will get us further ahead of the competition. It conveys the key point of the updates being made in the call log feature.
Anchoring the audience
Curiosity can play a significant role in helping anchor the audience. People are curious about what’s new or information that’s not easily accessible or interesting perspectives. Exploiting these factors even when the content is dry, can help grasp attention. Titles that are anchoring create interest while giving the audience enough information to fill in the banks while evoking curiosity to learn more.
Example 1:
Call log feature release in 2 phases. Find out what’s in phase 1 and 2
OR
Call log feature release will be built in 2 phases
VS
Example 2:
Building call log in 2 phases to expedite missed calls feature release
Example 1 informs the audience that the feature release will be in 2 phases and not much else. While example 2 exploits the curiosity instinct around building in 2 phases. Much more compelling and engaging.
Include keywords
When you include keywords in a title it makes it easy for the audience to digest the story behind the title.
Example 1:
Current call log feature design has issues
VS
Example 2:
Current call log feature design has 2 major gaps
Example 2 informs the audience about the ‘2 major gaps’. Even if they are not on the team for designing or implementing this feature, they will want to know about the two gaps the presenter considers important to reveal.
Add an element of surprise
Surprising the members of the audience should be considered a vital part of a presenters toolkit. By seeking to confound your audience with the element of surprise can often allow you to amplify the drama and add suspense to the story. The same applies to titles.
Example 1:
Introduction and guide to call log
VS
Example 2:
Single image educates and increases awareness of call log
Example 2 shares an element of surprise and can be best described as the occurrence of the unexpected. It makes it clear that an image will increase awareness! It’s about juxtaposing ‘single’ with ‘educate and increase awareness’. There are many subtle ways to achieve this. While example 1 is not unexpected.
There are many other ways to make your titles impactful but simply applying some of the above best practices will elevate the effectiveness of your presentation and keep your audience engaged and focused. If you have a point to make why not try to inform the audience in the title so they can see the value immediately.
