The Mistake Every Technical Presenter Makes #publicspeaking #presentation #shorts

25 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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TJ Walker says engineers should start every presentation by writing one sentence stating exactly what the audience should understand and do. Engineers are trained for precision and depth, which works for systems but kills clarity in talks. Treat communication like engineering: optimize for the result you want.

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Before you create your next presentation, do this first: write down your goal in one sentence. Not the topic, not everything you know, the goal. Because if you can't clearly state what you want your audience to understand and to do, there's almost no chance they will. That one step alone will immediately make your presentations clearer and more effective. If you're an engineer, you've been trained to value precision. Completeness and depth. That works extremely well when you're building systems. It often fails you when you're trying to explain those systems to other people. The problem isn't that you don't know enough. The problem is you're not designing your communication the way you design everything else, by looking at the results. Ultimize.