Readers don’t know what you know
Use storytelling to explain both data and its implications. For example:
Instead of writing, “40% of your spend has a quality score of 7 or below.”
Add the reason that they should care: “Improving quality score can lower CPCs and boost CTRs.”
Cut the fluff and jargon
You can lose people because they are focused on understanding terminology or trying to understand what you really mean. For example:
Instead of: “The core theme is one from the Shopify theme store and we’ve made some light customizations to it to reflect a similar look and feel to your website’s existing theme.”
Use: “We’ve made some light edits to provide a look and feel similar to your existing site.”
Edit ruthlessly
Tools like Hemingway and Grammarly can help simplify and refine your writing.
Whenever an important deck is ready to go out, we do peer reviews. This helps us remove filler words and make the content clear.
Avoid redundancy
Say things once and say them well. This excludes references to things on summary slides like executive summaries or scorecards.
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6. Build confidence with clear recommendations
Your clients depend on your knowledge. Most of the time, you give them advice they can choose to follow or ignore
State it directly
Avoid hedging with phrases like “we recommend.”
Say, “Implement X to achieve Y.” Unless it has already been completed, the client sees it as a recommendation.
Propose tests if needed
If you’re unsure, suggest testing or phased implementation.
This will come across better than using “we recommend” everywhere and shows that you are trying to improve their programs and results!
7. Keep language simple to allow your ideas and results to shine through
When you use larger or more complex words, it’s easy for the quality of your work to be lost.
Consultants from top companies are often taught to write at a 6th to 8th-grade reading level. This is true even when they create content for executives. Make your work accessible to everyone.
Simplify language
Avoid “big words” unless it’s how you typically speak or write. My team knows that I’m not a fan of the word “utilize.”
Use active voice
Keep sentences engaging and direct (e.g., “We identified opportunities” instead of “Opportunities were identified by us”).
8. Executive summaries should tell a story
Your summary sets the tone for the rest of your document.
However, creating the executive summary after everything else is done is usually easy.
My trick: Go back through the deck or report and tag anything that seems really important. I then use that to create the executive summary.
There may be too many great things to highlight, but you’ll quickly realize which of the things you’ve tagged are less exciting or important.
If you’ve done a good job writing slide titles, those can also help you create an executive summary.
Meaningful insights
An executive summary should not be a table of contents. Instead, use it to summarize key findings, recommendations and impact.
Hard-hitting statements
Use data or compelling facts to grab attention.
Keep them reading
A great executive summary is like a catalog cover. Its goal is to keep the reader interested and looking through your materials.
Ideally, you want them to feel that they’ve got a great agency partner and are being well taken care of.
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Creating client presentations that engage
From outlining your thoughts to building hard-hitting slides, effective client communication balances structure, clarity, and design.
Start with a strong foundation, refine your story, and let your visuals and language work together to engage and inform.
Whether you’re building a weekly report or a quarterly business review (QBR), these principles will help you deliver impactful and memorable content.
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