Presentation Expert Cindy Skalicky: New Book Offers Five Steps To Master Persuasive Presentations
Red Light, Green Light, How Top Leaders Present With Polish, Get By-In, And Become More Influential
“Our global economy thrives on innovation, and too many innovators don’t effectively sell their brilliance,” says Cindy Skalicky, author of Red Light, Green Light, How Top Leaders Present With Polish, Get By-In, And Become More Influential (2025, Indie Books International),
The book offers a five-step model leaders can use to improve the persuasion power of their presentations.
A master rhetorician, Skalicky realized from observing presenters that “audiences would not see a story; they’d see a disjointed pattern of information coming at them in bullet-point style but with no thread or narrative to pull them through.”
That is why she developed her HOW-TO model, using the five-point story arc, which provides an anchor for leaders in science and technology who want to showcase their business idea as a story.
Because of how the model forces presenters to stay in the mindset of their audience's expectations, Skalicky found that the following five-step approach serves as a foundation for executives and other presenters.
The H is for “hook me.” From the imaginary cartoon bubble above their heads, they are saying to you, “Hook me. Get my attention. My attention span is short. I don’t have a lot of focus or energy for this; keep my attention.” You need to keep your highly distractible audience from focusing on all the other things going on around them.
The first O stands for “orient me.” Show me around. Give me a sense of what you’re talking about. Once you hook them, your audience’s second request is that you orient them so that they fully understand the problem. The mistake leaders often make is with this letter, even though this letter doesn’t take long to deliver. Why is this the problem letter? Because—and this is key—speakers often assume the audience knows the problem already and to the same depth they do. This is not true. Overlooking this reality is what creates confusion. If audiences don’t buy in due to confusion, it’s almost always the O—or lack thereof—that was the fatal flaw.
The third letter is W for “win me.” Once they’ve been hooked and adequately oriented to the problem, your audience is ready for you to win them over with your solution and innovation. They want to understand what you’re proposing.
The fourth letter is T for “tell me more.” This is where leaders shine with their data and expertise on the subject. After a successful “win me” message, your audience sees the value of your solution. They are reeled in. They are curious and considering action. They are ready for more—the convincing part has arrived.
The final letter is O for “offer me.” By the time you’re through with your presentation, your audience silently says, “Okay, offer me a way in; offer me something I can do. Ask me what you need from me.” This is the time for your ask—an ask for money, buy-in, people, resources, a vote “yes,” whatever it is for you. In this letter O, you are to conclude your formal presentation and transition into the Q&A session—the discussion portion of your time with the audience.
Skalicky says many people believe storytelling is an easy, straightforward process; instead, the best storytellers and presenters hone their craft using a structured approach.
“When innovation storylines are crisp, clear, and confidently delivered, the innovation process itself can happen faster,” says Skalicky, owner and chief messaging strategist at On Point Communications, an internationally recognized speaking and executive coaching firm.
With over 20 years of experience and a master’s degree in rhetoric, her work has helped executives at places like Google, DuPont, and in big pharma secure millions in deal flow through compelling storytelling and strategic communication.
According to Skalicky, when speakers are successful, they make it easy for the audience to follow the complexities of their innovations.
“They have made the solution worthy of their consideration because of how they simply, quickly, and creatively—through a short storyline— demonstrated that a believable and costly problem exists not just for one person but for hundreds of thousands,” explains Skalicky.
Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Skalicky has lived in Fort Collins, Colorado, since 2007 with her husband and four children.
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