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We all know the rush of excitement and anticipation leading up to the finale of our favorite show. The prior episode ended on a cliffhanger, and we’ve been eagerly counting down to Tuesday at 9 p.m. for the resolution. The entire season has built towards this one pivotal moment. A moment that will answer all our questions and tie up any loose ends. Ideally, the opening scenes will address the central tension and set the stage for the rest of the story to unfold, allowing us, the viewers, to immerse ourselves in the experience.

But sometimes, it doesn’t go that way. Instead, you sit on the edge of your couch, expecting the story to hit the ground running, and the episode leads you astray, meandering through minor character arcs and irrelevant story details. The pivotal moment you’re waiting for gets delayed and diluted. By the time the story circles back to the climax, it’s 9:20 p.m., and you’ve already checked out. Attention has shifted to your phone, notifications, or another distraction entirely. The moment arrives—but the impact is lost.

That is precisely what happens when communications professionals bury the lede.

In today’s age of information overload, shrinking attention spans, and infinite distractions, you have only a few fleeting seconds to capture your audience’s attention. It’s critical to get to the point and lead with what matters most.

For many, this feels counterintuitive. In school, we’re taught to build towards a thesis — introduce readers to a topic, take them on a journey through some background information, and then lead them to the main point. This formal writing process, in which the thesis is placed within a broader context, provides a mutual starting point for both the writer and reader, thereby inviting the reader to join the discussion rather than imposing the argument on them.

In the world of communications, that approach doesn’t work. Most audiences aren’t professors who must evaluate the various sides of an argument and the way their students present it. Most audiences are busy, distracted, quick-to-judge individuals trying to instantaneously decide what is and isn’t worth their attention.

That’s why you must get to the point as quickly as possible. You only have five seconds of your audience’s time at best, so whether someone is scrolling on their phone, reading a newspaper, or watching a video to acquire information, you can never afford to wait to share the most important point.

This doesn’t mean sacrificing nuance or oversimplifying your message. Instead, it is about structuring your communication to align with how people actually consume information today. Once you’ve hooked your audience, the next challenge will be keeping their interest. This is the time to elaborate, provide context, and build a more layered narrative. None of that is possible if the audience never makes it past the introduction.

Consider a lesson from Journalism 101. Journalists are taught to begin every story with a captivating lede, followed by a nut graf, an opening paragraph that explains the story’s main point or context “in a nutshell.” If readers don’t make it past the nut graf, as most don’t, at least they understand the story’s significance and where it is going.

The same communications principles apply to all things public relations, from crafting a press release and pitching a story to building a brand narrative. Like journalists, skilled strategists never bury the lede because they know that doing so also buries an opportunity for engagement. And if they lose their audiences, the rest of their strategy will fall flat.

Don’t allow critical messages to get lost in the noise of supporting details. Attention is fragile— so when you have it, treat it with purpose. Use those first few seconds to deliver something meaningful. Make your audience feel like it’s Tuesday at 9 p.m. – engaged, curious, and ready for answers – not 9:20, when they’ve tuned out and moved on.

For example, it would and should feel wrong to open a paper about XX – whose purpose is to convince your professors – with the statement, “XXX”. It may capture their attention and provoke them to continue reading, but more likely, they will be defensive off the bat, already having convinced themselves that you are probably wrong, and they are probably right.

The formal writing process allows you and your audience to begin communication on the same page. Once your audience has been introduced to your thesis, it will perhaps keep an open mind while listening to the rest of your message, or at least understand where your point is coming from.

This is the ideal moment to reveal your main point, so don’t miss the opportunity to express it.