The one-sentence pitch

Every good talk is built on one sentence: the thing you want the audience to remember tomorrow. Write it before you open your slide software.

Why one sentence

An audience remembers far less than a reader: they can't re-read, and they're hearing you once. If you give them seven points, they'll keep none. If everything in the talk supports one message, they'll keep that.

How to write it

• Say what you found or made, not what you studied. "Colour augmentation lets small farms build accurate leaf-disease detectors" beats "I studied data augmentation".
• Use words a smart 15-year-old would understand.
• Keep it under about 25 words.

Use it everywhere

• As your title, or close to it.
• In your first minute and your last slide.
• When someone at a poster asks, "So what's this about?"
• When a relative asks what your research is.

The test

Tell it to a friend outside your field. Then ask them to repeat it back a minute later. If they can, you're ready to build the talk.

RememberOne sentence, under 25 words, about what you found. Build the whole talk to deliver it.