Many years ago, when I first moved to New York City to seek fame and fortune, one of my housemates was a Japanese émigré, Yoichi, who had recently arrived from Tokyo (and would soon become the New York Desk Editor for Japanese Playboy).  His mastery of the English language was basic, at best, and his first job in America was as a barker for a traveling carnival. In spite of not being able to speak the language, he was very successful at getting crowds into the sideshow tent - because they could not understand what he was saying.

That is the exact opposite of the advice we are going to give here. 

Gibberish worked for Yoichi at a traveling freakshow on the edge of town, but at IBM TechXchange 2025 (Oct. 6-9, Orlando FL), we can safely say that clarity and focus will be the best way to get people into your tent. 

I recently sat down with Bill Primerano, Principle Worldwide Data and AI Tech Sales Leader for IBM, and one of the important committee members who will be selecting technology sessions and tech talks from the hundreds that are coming in now through the TechXchange Call for Speakers effort.

Bill distilled his advice into a set of basic principles that can guide you as you submit your session proposals or even after your session is accepted, to ensure that TechXchange attendees understand the topic and takeaways of your presentation. With more than 1,000 sessions expected at the conference, your title and abstract need to be incisive, compelling and clear. Your audience will attend TechXchange, but will they find your session and then will they add it to their schedule? 

Bill has 5 keys to keep in mind: 

1. Give a concise summary of your presentation’s relevant points

2. Be clear and stay on topic, avoid straying or getting off on a tangent

3. Use descriptive and compelling language to draw the reader in

4. Talk to the intended audience, not over their heads

5. Avoid technical language, acronyms or terms that may only relate to your organization

Bill goes into more detail in the short video that closes this blog, so click and watch for the full story.

I’ll close with some advice that I received over the years, writing articles for Associated Press and many magazines, from Good Housekeeping to Parade. Every journalist has had an editor say at least once, “You buried the lede!”  What that means is the journalist didn’t mention the most important aspect of the story at the beginning, but instead took a while to get around to it.

Don’t bury the lede!