How to explain your technology in two minutes
Investors, partners and boards give you two minutes before they decide whether to keep listening. How to build a short explanation of complex technology that lands.
Founders and research teams know their work better than anyone. That is often the problem. When you understand every detail, it is hard to see which three details a newcomer actually needs. This is the approach we use at Lumen when a founder needs their technology understood in two minutes.
Most investors, partners and board members decide in the first two minutes whether something is worth more of their time. This guide is about making those two minutes count, whether you use them in a meeting, a pitch or a film.
Start with the problem, not the product
People remember problems. Open with the thing that is broken, slow, expensive or impossible today, in words your audience already uses. If they nod at the problem, they will lean in for the answer.
Only then introduce what you built. The technology becomes the answer to a question they are already asking.
Find one picture for the idea
Complex technology is easier to follow when it is attached to one simple image: a digital twin, a filter, a map, a lock and a key. Choose a picture that is accurate, not just catchy, and check it with your technical lead before you use it.
One good picture does more work than ten slides of detail. It is also what people repeat to their colleagues afterwards.
Say what is true, exactly
It is tempting to round up. "Could" becomes "will", and "early results" becomes "proven". Sophisticated audiences notice, and once they doubt one claim they doubt all of them.
State each result exactly as your evidence supports it. Precision reads as confidence.
Cut everything a newcomer does not need
You will have to leave out things you are proud of. That is normal. Keep the problem, the idea, the one or two pieces of evidence that matter most, and what happens next. Save the rest for the follow up meeting, where it will land better.
A useful test: if a smart friend outside your field could not repeat your explanation back to you, it is still too long.
End with what you want them to do
Every explanation should end with a next step: a second meeting, a pilot, a trial, an introduction. Say it plainly. People are far more likely to act when they are asked.
Why film helps
A short film lets you control all of this in advance. The order is fixed, the picture is drawn rather than described, and the explanation is the same every time, whoever presses play. It also travels: the same two minutes can open a pitch, sit on your homepage and be forwarded to the person who was not in the room.
A simple outline
- The problem, in your audience's words
- What you built, as the answer
- The one picture that explains how it works
- The evidence that matters most, stated exactly
- What it means for the person watching
- The next step you want them to take
More from the journal.
Getting your experts on camera without wasting their time
Your physicians, researchers and executives carry your credibility, and they have no time.
How to brief a film about complex work
What to send, who to bring and what to decide before the first call.
How to tell if your video is working
Views are the easiest number to find and the least useful.
Complexity, made clear.
Tell us the audience, the goal and the deadline. A white paper, a deck or a fifteen minute call is usually enough to scope it.
Book a scoping call hello@lumennarrative.com