When presenting ideas, some of the greatest marketers of our time fall into a common trap: too much information. They cannot resist the need to explain an idea in detail. As bored and uninspired audiences look on, a great idea can become trapped under the weight of superfluous information, and the energy behind that idea can be permanently lost.

How can you ensure your ideas get their chance to really shine? Ditch the Powerpoint, and simplify your presentation. Change the way you sell your ideas with inspiration from one of the most underappreciated forms of communication: the highway billboard.

A highway billboard typically has only three elements: a headline, a visual, and a reason-to-believe or call to action. Here's how it works: after you write a consumer-benefit headline, create a visual that helps reinforce a most-important consumer benefit, then create a reason-to-believe in the headline. You will find that once you create a benefit-oriented headline, it will be relatively easy to create both the corresponding visual and compelling reason-to-believe.

For more information on the Billboarding Technique, read "To Promote A New Idea, Forget The PowerPoint--Try A Billboard" at FastCompany.com, or contact The Growth Engine at (203) 857-4494. You can also find us on the web at http://www.growth-engine.com/

Bryan Mattimore is the author of the new book IDEA STORMERS: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs, published by Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley. Learn how to win a FREE electronic copy of the book, by visiting http://www.growth-engine.com/