I came across an article from The Economist about how to be a better boss. One lesson stood out: good managers remove what gets in the way. Fewer emails, fewer meetings, fewer distractions.
The example they shared was interesting. Shopify removed 12,000 meetings from employees’ calendars. Not all of them came back. Overall, meetings fell by around 14%, giving people more time to focus on meaningful work.
There’s a clear message here: subtraction works.
And it applies to presenting, too.
Don’t give a presentation just because there’s a slot on the calendar.
Not every update needs slides. Not every meeting needs a talk. It’s not the number of presentations that makes a difference, but the value of each one.
That means fewer presentations, but each one with a clear message and full audience attention.
When you speak less often, people listen more. When you remove the noise, what matters comes through.
So ask yourself: Does this need to be a presentation? Or is there a simpler way?
Cut the clutter. Keep the moments that count.
Timeless Presenter, my new book on the principles of communication that never expire, will be released soon.
If you’d like to be notified when it’s out, you can join the early access list here.