How to Distill Your Message to Key Points and Outline a Course of Action

This is the most valuable skill I’ve learned in my entire career ??

?? Be able to synthesize massive amount of information into salient points, identify what data are missing, propose a recommended course of action and outline the next immediate steps to be taken ??

While this was the core of my job description as the Chief of Staff to the CEO, it is a pinnacle skill that will allow anyone to…

• get a promotion?
• be recognized as a thought and/or team leader
• propose action plans and get peoples’ buy in
• collaborate effectively
• win over boards
• secure investments

…You name it, your ability to translate and process large amounts of information into succinct, clear, and actionable talking points is a skill that will yield an incredible ROI in your business and your life.

So how can you develop this valuable skill? While there are no shortcuts to developing your abilities to synthesize information and translate them into playbooks and action items I do think there is a methodical way to build this muscle over time.?

Here are my 5 steps to building this coveted skillset.?

Start 1- in private, 2- with a peer, 3- with a SME and 4- in real time and 5- on repeat. Let me explain.

1. In Private?

In 8th grade, I had a creative writing teacher, Miss Jenkins, who made us write a 10 page story as our first assignment in our Creative Writing class. The next day’s assignment was to cut the word count of that same story in half. And then cut it in half again, and again and again until it was down to a single sentence. The key is not only in the words that you keep but also in those omitted each step of the way.

You can do this exercise today by reading a briefing document or your notes from a complex meeting and distill it down into only the essentials. Before you can do that you have to ask yourself what knowledge do you need to convey??

For example, is it most useful to?

• synthesize all of the information in a way that makes it easily memorable to recall? (This is useful if you’re going to be asked to present this to your wider team or use it in a formal speech.)
• point out missing data points or a flaw in the argument (This is useful if your role is to analyze and propose possible solutions to the information presented.)
• make a recommendation based on the information presented so that the reader can make a fully informed decision?

There are many different purposes for summarizing and the list above is not exhaustive. Identifying what information is needed and for what purpose is often most of the battle. Practice summarizing the article with a different reader and purpose in mind. Watch how you select details differently for each different objective.?

Sure, Gen AI could do some of this for you, but it’s worth the effort as you learn to identify critical information (and, more importantly, identify what vital intel is missing).?

2. With a peer?

When I started my very first “real job” after undergrad working with Jeff Bezos at Amazon in the early 2000s, tech-speak felt like a literal foreign language. I couldn’t even process the words (or million baffling tech acronyms) let alone know what I was supposed to do with them. After each meeting I would process my notes and then take my summary and list of action items to my manager, John, to be sure I had understood everything correctly. He offered early course corrections and data that saved me hours of misled effort. This takes a bit of humility because it highlighted the holes in my knowledge or business savvy but in the end it built up trust and confidence for us both.?

3. With an SME?

By the time I was at Google I felt pretty fluent in the language of tech but I knew I could never have a PhD in everything we were building, investing in or betting on. So I built a network of SMEs, or Subject Matter Experts, I could ask questions (including “stupid” ones), test ideas with and accelerate my understanding. This was critical as my role started to require more and more strategy and unique insights from me. Often the key to strategy pivots comes from observing what is missing or hasn’t yet been considered or researched which requires a higher level of understanding and sophistication. For this you need to partner with SMEs until you become one yourself.

4. In real time

Once you’ve built this foundational knowledge you are able to do all of this in real time. You can ask critical questions, summarize complex problems, form information into proposed solutions and make recommendations for ways forward even in situations of uncertainty and ambiguity. This is executive level decision making.?

By the end of my tenure at Google you could hand me a 4-inch, dense briefing binder before a board of directors meeting and I could quickly pull out the 2-3 critical discussion points that each attendee would need at their fingertips. And those points were unique to each person despite coming from the same binder because they were each in the meeting to play a different role.?

That took years - actually a decade -? to perfect. So be patient.?

5. On repeat

In my work as a consultant I am now constantly faced with new situations in new industries which test my knowledge and instincts. My clients rely on me to notice patterns from past experiences and to ask the right questions in order to accelerate their decision making and produce ideal results faster.?

This is when it starts to get really high stakes - and, to me, really fun. The truth is that this requires a lot of practice and also, inevitably, mistakes along the way. You’re going to ask a dumb questions or fail to identify a critical piece of missing data occasionally. But the chances are that you’ll only make those painful mistakes once and you’ll then be better off for it.?

When it gets hard, remember why you’re doing this. This skill will qualify you to move from where you are today to where you want to be in the future. The truth is that many people lean out of complex situations and decision making without even engaging. Leaning in will in and of itself differentiate you from the 99%.?

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Let’s continue the conversation.? Visit my website, https://annhiatt.com/services/, and sign up to receive my newsletters or to request a consultation.