Start with the Why in Communications

Have you ever had a great idea — one you were genuinely excited about — and couldn’t wait to share it with your boss, your team, or a client?

You had thought through the details. You had considered what could go wrong. You felt ready. So you walked into the meeting, pulled up your slides, and presented your idea… and it fell flat. People didn’t react the way you expected. The energy wasn’t there. The enthusiasm you felt didn’t transfer.

After the meeting, you replay the moment in your head, trying to understand what happened. Usually, we land on one of two conclusions:

• They just don’t get it.

• Maybe the idea wasn’t that good after all.

But there’s a third possibility we rarely consider: maybe the issue wasn’t the idea or the audience, but how the idea was communicated.

Familiarity creates a gap

By the time you present an idea, you’ve lived with it for a while. You’ve thought through scenarios, trade-offs, risks, and implications. You’ve had time to get comfortable with it. Your audience hasn’t. They’re hearing it for the first time.

That gap matters. You’re starting from a place of familiarity; they’re starting from zero. And because time is limited — for you and for them — the question becomes: how do you help your audience get from point A to point B faster?

My answer: start with the why.

A familiar scenario

Imagine you’re a marketing manager asked to lead your company’s presence at the largest trade show in your industry. Your boss gives you clear guidance:

• the booth should be highly visible

• it should communicate strength and modernity

• it should have space to host customers and hold private meetings

• and it should attract people in, not just sit there

You do your homework, and presentation day arrives.

You pull up a map of the exhibition floor with a red circle around your chosen space and say:

“I recommend booth #2529. It’s centrally located and large enough for our needs. The floor space costs $500k. We would build a two-story booth with conference rooms upstairs and a café downstairs. The structure will cost $250k. Screens will cost $25k. Staffing will cost about $10k, and food and beverages another $15k. I’m requesting a total budget of $850k.”

What did your audience likely hear? Not vision or strategy — just numbers. And probably shock.

What was missing was the why. The presenter never anchored the recommendation to the outcomes the boss had asked for: visibility, presence, differentiation, and space for real conversations. The audience was left to connect the dots themselves — after first reacting to the size of the budget.

Now let’s change the approach.

Same idea, different message

This time, you start with a visual rendering of the proposed booth:

“This is the first draft of the booth we’re proposing. The design is modern and highly visible. We recommend a central location so the booth can be seen by the maximum number of attendees—space #2529 is in the highest-traffic area and fits our footprint needs.

On the ground level, we’re creating an open, welcoming space with seating and a café to encourage people to stop and engage with our sales team. Screens around the booth will showcase our offerings and draw in passersby.

Upstairs, we’re proposing two conference rooms for private customer meetings. Given the number of meetings already booked, this allows us to host conversations without noise or interruption.

This design delivers the visibility, presence, and functionality you asked for. Based on this approach, we’re requesting approval for a budget of $850k.”

Same recommendation. Same cost. Completely different reaction.

Why? Because the audience understood why each element existed before they were asked to react to the investment.

The infomercial effect

Let me illustrate how this works through a fictitious non-stick pan infomercial.

The infomercial starts with:
“Don’t you hate it when food sticks to your pan?”

You see dramatic images of scraping, burned food, and frustration. Dark tones. Annoyed faces.

Then:
“Introducing ACME non-stick pans.”

Suddenly the visuals change. Bright kitchens. Smiling people. Easy cooking. Effortless cleanup.

Only after that do they explain the features: materials, coatings, engineering.

They don’t start with the technology. They start with the problem.

That’s the structure:

• WHY — Why does the current situation need to change?

• WHAT — What does a better future look like?

• HOW — How does this solution deliver it?

Why this works

Starting with the why helps your audience orient themselves. It gives them context. It answers the unspoken question: Why should I care? Once that’s clear, the details land very differently.

This applies far beyond presentations. It works when:

• giving direction to your team

• trying to influence a decision upward

• managing change

• even communicating at home

I use this with my kids all the time. For example, instead of repeating “pick up your stuff,” I say, “The cleaning person comes tomorrow—anything on the floor might disappear.” The why comes first.

A final question

Ask yourself this: would you rather be led from the how or from the why?

Leading from the how focuses on tasks. Leading from the why creates alignment around purpose and outcomes. When people understand the why, the how often follows naturally.

So the next time you’re trying to persuade, influence, or align others, pause before diving into details.

Start with the why. You may be surprised by how much easier the rest of the conversation becomes.