LinkedIn·Monday, 17 August 2026·9d ago
Every time you speak on stage or post on LinkedIn, ask yourself this one quesiton: If people remember only one thing, what do I want it to…
Clo Willaerts
Corporate Trainer & Keynote Speaker | Digital Marketing Strategy, Leadership Development | 25+ years guiding marketing executives through exponential tech change
Every time you speak on stage or post on LinkedIn, ask yourself this one quesiton:
If people remember only one thing, what do I want it to be?
Garr Reynolds raises this question in Presentation Zen, originally in the context of slide design. I think it applies just as well to your LinkedIn profile, your content, your introduction at a networking event, or a keynote.
The first time I really thought about it, I resisted the idea.
Surely my audience can remember more than one thing from what I said?
Of course they can. But they’re also busy, distracted, and hearing from a lot of other people. If you try to communicate everything you know, there’s a good chance very little of it sticks.
The question becomes even more useful when you apply it to personal branding:
What do I want to be known for, and does that thing actually help move my business forward?
Because being memorable is nice. But being memorable for something people need, value, and will pay you for is considerably more useful.
Here are a few ways to work it out:
1. The elevator test
Explain what you do to someone who knows nothing about your work. Give yourself one sentence. If you need several, keep refining.
2. The invoice test
Look at what you actually get paid for, or what you want to get paid for. Your “one thing” should have some connection to that. Being good at ten different things doesn’t necessarily make you easy to hire.
3. The “so that…” chain
Start with what you do and ask: “So that what?” Keep going until you reach an outcome that is concrete and meaningful.
“I help leaders communicate better.”
So that what?
“So they can…”
Keep going until you get past the polished positioning language and reach the thing that actually matters.
4. The stranger test
Ask five people who know your work to describe what you’re known for in one sentence. Ask them separately. Don’t give them options or help them find the “right” answer.
The overlap will tell you something.
5. The subtraction method
Write down everything you could say about yourself professionally. Then start cutting.
If something doesn’t reinforce the idea you want to own, take it out.
Keep going until the remaining message feels almost uncomfortably simple.
6. The analog-first rule
Before LinkedIn, Canva, or your next slide deck, grab a piece of paper.
Work out the message first. Design it second.
The book quote was Reynolds’ point with presentations, and it works surprisingly well for personal branding too.
You don’t need to reduce yourself to one sentence.
You do need to decide what you want people to remember.
And ideally, that thing should be useful to them and useful to the business you’re trying to build.
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