Over the past week I have helped two tech entrepreneurs with important pitches, a sports team with their presentation skills, a global MedTech firm with a product launch and an electric vehicle manufacturer prepare to speak on a panel at a major international conference.

All very different communication moments.

All different audiences.

All different measures of success.

All different levels of experience.

But all requiring good content to communicate well.

Content often gets forgotten. I’m discovering this is happening more and more.

You may be clear who you want to engage with and what you want to achieve from your communication but then leap ahead to your performance.

But if your content is a second thought then how can you expect to power it up to make it stand out and be memorable?

If your content is a second thought, how can you create limitless understanding and deep connections to amplify your message?

It is like the United States aim in 1962 of being the first to land a man on the moon then in 1969 sending the Saturn V rocket, with the Apollo lander attached, into orbit without Neil Armstrong being strapped on board.

The mission would not be a success because the most important and substantial element, the astronaut, would be missing.

Despite the performance and show and communication to a global audience of the preeminence of US technology, the key element needed for success would be lacking so the mission would be a failure.

And the audience would not be thinking and feeling what the US government and NASA hoped.

Content does not need to be hugely long and unwieldy.

You might only have a list of three things you want to say or one simple argument you want to make.

But do the work. Make the effort.

The right words, the right tone and the right structures or stories will help you to be successful in your communication.

Your message matters. Your content is crucial.