2026 update: definition, contents of a talking points document, drafting method and frequently asked questions.
Talking points are wordings prepared in advance for the people who speak on behalf of an organisation to reuse. Spokespeople, salespeople, executives and partners then say the same thing in the same words. In a company, talking points also serve to adapt the message to each stage of the prospect’s decision journey.
Understanding talking points in a communication strategy
The French expression for talking points, éléments de langage, comes from the vocabulary of communications professionals. Alice Krieg-Planque and Claire Oger, of Université Paris-Est Créteil, describe it as a set of wordings prepared for reuse and made available to the people called on to speak in public. These wordings are generally not intended for the public itself.
Talking points are used to:
- keep the same message, whoever the speaker and whatever the channel;
- adapt the tone of voice to the audience;
- give each prospect the message that matches their stage in the decision journey.
Source: Alice Krieg-Planque and Claire Oger, “Éléments de langage”, Publictionnaire. Dictionnaire encyclopédique et critique des publics, published online on 20 September 2015 (in French).
What a talking points document contains
According to the same entry, a talking points document may bring together:
- the vocabulary to use and the vocabulary to avoid;
- the preferred terminology;
- the arguments to put forward;
- the topics to raise during an appearance;
- the figures to quote;
- the official statements to align with.
This document often takes the form of an internal email that lists the arguments, or of a slide deck that sets out the expressions to use.
Talking points differ from a sales pitch. A sales pitch organises arguments. Talking points provide ready-made wordings that everyone repeats as they stand.
Why talking points matter along the buyer journey
Take a concrete example: a B2B brand that targets marketing managers with a SaaS product. If its messages focus only on the product’s technical features, it may lose clients who need reassurance on return on investment. With well-designed talking points, it can address clients at different levels of maturity, from those who are discovering their needs to those who are ready to invest.
The decision journey: understanding and structuring each stage
The decision journey is a tool that maps the interactions between your brand and your prospects. Its main benefits:
- A better understanding of the client: you can see your prospects’ journey.
- Targeted communication: you adapt your messages to where each prospect stands.
- Better use of resources: you concentrate on the touchpoints that matter.
- Continuous improvement: you identify and remove points of friction.
Each of the three stages below calls for its own talking points.
Awareness
This is the prospect’s entry point into your buyer journey. At this stage, they identify a need or a problem. Your messages should catch their attention and raise their curiosity.
Example:
“Losing prospects in your conversion funnel? Discover effective strategies to turn them into clients.”
Recommended optimisation: keywords such as “message consistency” or “prospect maturity” improve your editorial SEO and your visibility on informational searches.
Consideration
The prospect is now assessing the available solutions. This is where you demonstrate your expertise. Your talking points should put forward your results, your case studies and your social proof.
Example:
“How a marketing team reorganised its messages: the case study.”
Decision
At this stage, the prospect is about to become a client. They still need reassurance about their choice. Your talking points should include guarantees, testimonials or promotions.
Example:
“Try our solution free for 14 days and see the difference for yourself.”
Funnel or siphon: rethinking buyer journey models
Marketers often use the sales funnel to structure their campaigns. A less linear model is now emerging: the siphon.
The limits of the sales funnel
The funnel rests on a linear progression. It no longer reflects how people buy today, when prospects go through several touchpoints before they decide.
Why adopt the siphon
The siphon recognises that clients do not always move forward in sequence. They can go back, explore several solutions in parallel, or be influenced by unexpected channels such as social media.
Illustration:
A prospect discovers your product through a LinkedIn ad, reads up on your website, then checks Google reviews before contacting you.
Adapting your talking points to prospect maturity
Prospect maturity is a deciding factor in your communication strategy. It determines which type of message will work best with your audience at each stage of its journey. Structure your talking points according to the following levels of maturity.
1. Cold prospects
These prospects are at the very start of their journey and have not yet fully identified their problem or need. Your main objective is to raise their interest with educational messages that help them understand what is at stake for them.
Example:
“What is a sales funnel, and how do you optimise it to turn more of your visitors into clients?”
2. Warm prospects
At this stage, prospects are aware of their need and are actively exploring the solutions on the market. This is the time to put forward your competitive advantages, your specific expertise and the features that set you apart from the competition.
Example:
“What sets our method apart, with the proof.”
3. Hot prospects
These prospects have reached the final stage of their buying decision, but they need reassurance about their choice. This is the time for your strongest arguments: promotions, no-commitment trial periods and concrete testimonials from satisfied clients.
Example:
“Let’s talk about your project in a first thirty-minute call, with no commitment.”
How to write talking points
For an offer, a list of ready-made sentences is not enough, because the tone and the length change from one channel to another. The talking points for an offer are therefore written as three lists. Together they make up Governance, the ninth and last pillar of the Clear Offer Framework.
- Non-negotiable terms. These are the words that carry the offer and that nobody replaces: the name of the offer, the name of the method, regulatory terms.
- Off-limits drifts. These are the ways of presenting the offer that degrade it. Each prohibition comes with its reason.
- Variants allowed by channel. On the website, in a proposal, in a meeting or on LinkedIn, the tone and the length change. The promise and the mechanism do not.
A test checks the result: three people describe the offer, then you compare their descriptions. If the descriptions differ, the promise changes with the speaker. During an offer diagnostic carried out in 2026 for an SME in the services sector (anonymised case), each quote carried six objectives, and the offer carried four competing promises. Two portraits of the company coexisted. The offer had no stable core of wording.
Here is a reconstructed example that reproduces no client. An energy audit firm sets “regulatory audit” as a non-negotiable term. It bans “free assessment”, which would make the audit look like a loss leader. On LinkedIn, it can write “the audit the law requires of you”: the promise stays the same.
Once these lists are in place, the talking points are adapted to each stage of the decision journey, as in the examples above.
Frequently asked questions about talking points
What are talking points?
A talking point is a wording prepared in advance that the people who speak on behalf of an organisation repeat as it stands. A talking points document sets the words to use and to avoid, the arguments to put forward and the figures to quote, so that the message stays the same from one speaker to the next.
What is the difference between talking points and a sales pitch?
A sales pitch organises arguments in order to convince. Talking points provide ready-made wordings to repeat word for word. A sales pitch can draw on talking points.
How do you check that talking points work?
Ask three people who present the offer to describe it, then compare their descriptions. If they differ on the promise or on the method, the talking points are not being applied or lack precision.
To set the wording of your offer and have your teams apply it, see our Clarity engagement.