Stop Explaining Features. Start Owning Outcomes.
- Cécile Bastien Remy
- Oct 7
- 2 min read
One Insight
Executives don’t buy features.
They buy reduced risk, clearer forecasts, and faster results.
If you don’t speak their language, you’ll lose their attention.
One Story
A project manager in a major bank kept being interrupted by his department head during meetings.
We observed one of those sessions and quickly saw why:
his presentation was too technical — full of system details, but missing the link to business value.
He reworked every slide to focus on outcomes:
✅ Clearer budgets
✅ More accurate timelines
✅ Smoother daily work
The next time, the interruptions stopped.
Instead, he gained support and sponsorship.
Same project. Same platform.
Different language and totally different results.
One Tool: The Outcome Flip
For every feature you present, finish the sentence:
👉 “…so you can…”
Examples:
• “Automated reporting” → so you can close the quarter two days faster.
• “New user interface” → so you can onboard new staff in half the time.
• “Data lake” → so you can forecast with ±3% accuracy.
Then, start your pitch or slide with a three-line opener:
Problem → Outcome → Proof (a short metric or story).
Make it Stick
Build an Outcome Bank — a list of ten “so you can” phrases your audience actually cares about.
Start every memo, slide, or email with one of them.
It’s a small change that creates a big shift in how decision-makers listen.
Try it This Week
Pick one slide or email.
Rewrite it using the Outcome Flip.
Send it to a senior stakeholder.
If their reply is faster and shorter , you’ve just turned technical talk into executive language.
Et Voilà!
