Whenever I need to put a script or presentation together, I spend days agonizing over how the narrative flows together.

Unlike an interview or panel, which are made from multiple short and tangentially related stories, a good script requires all the micro-stories to be interconnected and woven into a single cohesive tapestry.

The purpose of that tapestry: To leave people with one key takeaway.

Often, I make the mistake of cramming so many stories into the tapestry that it muddles the takeaway.

When in doubt, present to someone who doesn’t know you and ask them what the takeaway was. Bonus points if they remember it a week later.