How to create a tagline

Distractions characterize our fast-paced time. People are always on the go – locally or even mentally. If you want to be heard, you have to make yourself heard. If you want to be successful, you have to be remembered.
In communicating with other people, we, therefore, have no valuable time to waste. Whether it’s an upper sentence, a “lead”, an “angle”, a “pitch” or a “slogan” – one sentence, the first, must be able to pick up the focus of people by tearing them out of their thoughts, surprising and stimulating their thinking. A sentence must explain the idea or intention in such a way that other people become curious and want to learn more.
After all, people are reluctant to follow a company, organization or person who does not impress with clear communication. Clear communication shows direction and creates trust.

At the crucial moment, when it is most important to be convincing, 9 out of 10 times we are not.
Oren Klaff, Pitch Anything

What is the “One Sentence Method”?

After dealing with the topic or idea, you are aware of some interesting facts, comparisons, analogies and connections in the context of the issue. Even if it seems tempting to expand your expertise and focus on these aspects, you shouldn’t. You are not the most important person in your communication – but your target group. And your target group wants to understand the topic and your approach. It, therefore, does not need the smallest detail – but the central aspect and its supporting points. So free yourself from the close connection to the subject. Start your communication with the essence of the first sentence and support it with two or three additional points, as well as a visualization in the form of an anecdote, statistics or a quote (keyword: reverse pyramid shape in journalistic writing).

A successful sentence, therefore, reflects the entire statement and can stand alone without losing its intelligibility (essence). It is tailored to a specific target group (people) to encourage people to think through an often proactive perspective and to induce them to a discussion (dialogue) as well as action (action / new way of looking at a topic). The soundbite is therefore often characterized by a portion of drama (drama/power). The sentence serves the own goals as well as the goals of the target group (goals) and helps to underpin the critical points of further communication (focus), while at the same time emphasizing the value of the idea (value).

What benefits has the “One Sentence Method”?

This one crucial first sentence and its connection with supporting arguments, facts and stories help you to generate and keep the attention of your target group. Use the “Power-Soundbite” to offer your listeners value and to keep their attention. This principle of communication can help you to attract more blog and email newsletter readers, to position yourself as an author or journalist as well as your organization better represented in the context of press releases, social media appearances, conferences and interviews. The “One sentence method” can also help you position yourself as an expert and speaker, motivate people to act and thus view you as a manager. Whoever builds up his communication according to the “One sentence method” is considered more interesting and trustworthy. You are more likely to follow the company or the person, buy the products, choose the person, engage in work and report about them as a journalist. The “1 sentence method” takes your communication to another level and gives you more success.

How do you craft your elevator pitch?

The following points guide you through the Soundbite Finding process and should help you to make your communication more effective.

• What is your passion? Why are you interested in this topic?Let yourself be carried away by your thoughts and stay open when brainstorming while handwriting words on a blank piece of paper that come to your mind when you think about the topic.
  In a second step, look at the words and mark those that particularly appeal to you.
  Next, try to find synonyms for these words that may express your intention even better.
• Define your goals.You only know your obstacles if you know your goal. Only based on your goal and the obstacles can you create a kind of “road map”, a strategy, to achieve your goal.
  Using the list of words from Exercise No.1, try to define the goal of your communication (document/lecture / etc.) in a proactive, inspiring way. What do you want to achieve in the long term as well as in short?
  Then prioritize the goals and ask yourself which goals you want to achieve with your statement.
• Define your target groupWho are the people affected by the topic or idea covered?
  How should they be portrayed? What do you know about them?
  Who is the target group for communication (lecture, article, etc.)?
  What do you know about the target group?
  What does the target group know about you?
• What are the goals of your target group?The goals of your target group (readers, listeners, voters, employees) may differ from your goals. Your crucial sentence should address the purposes of your target group and highlight the similarity to yours.
• Define your actionWhat should be the purpose?
  Which aspects of the plot are important to you?
  Which aspects of the plot are of particular interest to the target group?
  Inspire people to take action through emotional, appealing a positive effect by storytelling.
• What is the value of the statement? “Why should customers or a person on the street care about the project you are proposing? How does it change the world or improve lives? How will people feel when it is complete? These are the components that make information persuasive and memorable.”(Paul J. Zak, founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and professor of economics, psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University)How is your idea different from others? Especially from your fellow combatants? What value does your plan have for society/politics / the company or even the world?
• Drama: Give your statement more flavourWhich dramatic elements of your statement are interesting?
  Could you encourage dialogue?
  Can the drama bind the target group to the message? To get you to act?
• Communicate authentically.The crucial sentence shouldn’t feel wrong or strange to you. You vouch for this sentence. So only use sentences that resonate with you as a person.
• Be specific.Your pitch will be more successful with concrete examples that people can visualize.
• Be simple.The sentence must be understood straight away. You have to keep it and be able to recite it. Therefore, do not use cumbersome technical terms and foreign words.Try to put the answers to the questions above in one sentence. To enhance your communication, you should be able to add two or three further arguments.
  

  Resources and further readings:

  • Mimi Goss, What is your one sentence?