Moment Of Maximum Impact

Here’s a useful construct I encountered this week. As my homeland’s press went potty about the new Trotsky in their sights, the wonderful panto of Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) suffered an unwelcome beige makeover.

Dismiss it as yah-boo if you like. My travels have taught me that around the world, everyone knows about the Mother of Parliaments through the rough and tumble of PMQs. Order. Order.

In coverage of the supposed reboot, sketch writers noted that the actual moment of maximum impact from the weekly half-hour showpiece across the benches did not herald from Despatch Box centre stage. This week’s garland seems to adorn a homegrown terror putdown.

Such Moment has many attributes. Across the time it produces the loudest gasp. It is the one item remembered long after. A majority of post-match chatter recounts it ahead of the obvious. It gets people thinking, rather than merely gossiping.

These clearly apply to any live Sales setting.

Whilst hopefully not as adversarial as among Westminster’s green leather and mace, a meeting or presentation ought have one such ‘moment of maximum impact’.

For two immediate reasons we should track them.

We can fashion them with adequate prep.

We can recognise them after the event and lever their power.

The better we generate and the greater their punch, the more likely we are to prevail.