A great idea doesn’t need a PowerPoint.
It doesn’t need a pitch.
It doesn’t need a warm-up, a preface, or a 40-minute TED Talk intro just to make sense.

If an idea is truly great, it hits instantly.
People understand it in one breath.
They feel it before they analyse it.

The moment you need to start explaining, really explaining, you’re no longer defending the idea.
You’re pleading for its life.

And bad ideas always beg.

Most “great ideas” aren’t ideas at all.
They’re insecure constructions held together by enthusiasm, jargon, and the hope that the room is too polite to call bullshit.

Let’s stop pretending.

If a “great” idea needs explaining, it’s not great.
It’s camouflage for confusion.

And if you want to see what it looks like when dead marketing ideas are really buried, read this text: Dead marketing ideas no one buries.

The brutal truth: Most people hide bad ideas behind complexity

People over-explain for one reason:
They don’t trust their idea to survive contact with reality.

So they wrap it in extra words.
They add diagrams, frameworks, funnels, flywheels, quadrants, and whatever new fake-smart template LinkedIn is drooling over this week.

They create a fog so thick that nobody can see the weakness underneath.

Complexity becomes a shield.

But here’s the problem:
If your idea only works inside your explanation, it doesn’t work.

Ideas that collapse the moment you stop talking were never alive.
They just borrowed your breath.

The 5 types of fake “Great ideas” (and why they collapse)

1. The idea that only works after 20 minutes of context

If your pitch starts with,
“Well, to understand this, you first need to know…”
– stop.
You are already apologising for the idea before you’ve even shared it.

Great ideas don’t require pre-therapy.

2. The idea that needs everyone to change their behaviour

If your idea requires the world to adapt to you, your idea is dead.
People don’t change because your slide deck asks nicely.

3. The idea held together by buzzwords

If the idea falls apart the moment you remove words like synergy, innovative, ecosystem, activation, omnichannel, it was never an idea.
It was linguistic makeup.

4. The idea that sounds smart but solves nothing

Plenty of “ideas” look good on a whiteboard and die in the real world.
Because “sounds clever” is not the same as “actually helps someone.”

5. The idea that needs you to be there to explain it

If your idea needs you to survive, it’s not scalable.
It’s hostage to your presence.

A great idea works when you’re not in the room.
A weak idea dies the moment you shut up.

Examples that prove the point

Great ideas:

  • “Write once, run anywhere.” (Java)
  • “The world’s information, organized.” (Google)
  • “A computer in your pocket.” (iPhone)
  • “Photos that disappear.” (Snapchat)

You read those once. You get the point.
No footnotes. No TED Talk. No thesis.

Weak ideas:

  • “It’s like Uber meets AI meets blockchain…”
  • “We’re redefining synergy in the omnichannel activation ecosystem…”
  • “Imagine a new paradigm shift in the experience economy…”

If the idea starts sounding like a parody of itself, it’s already dead.

Why people over-explain: The psychology behind weak ideas

1. Fear of looking stupid

So they overcompensate with complexity.

2. Fear the idea isn’t enough

So they inflate it with unnecessary layers.

3. Fear of simple solutions

Simple feels “not smart enough,” even though simple is what wins.

4. Desire to impress, not help

They want to sound brilliant instead of being useful.
And nothing kills a good idea faster.

So what makes a great idea… Great?

A great idea has three properties:

1. It’s instantly understandable

If a 12-year-old can’t grasp it, it’s not simple enough.

2. It solves something immediately real

Not theoretical. Not conceptual. Not “high-level.”
Real problem → real solution → real impact.

3. It survives without you

It spreads because it’s solid, not because you’re charismatic.

A great idea walks on its own legs.
A weak idea needs you to carry it everywhere.

The final cut: If you need to explain it, you don’t believe in it

Every time you find yourself explaining, clarifying, defending, reframing, or adding “just one more point,” ask a brutal question:

If this idea were truly great, would I need to do all of this?

Most of the time, the answer is no.
And that’s your signal.

Great ideas don’t need permission.
They don’t need protection.
They don’t need a script.

They hit instantly.
They spread effortlessly.
They survive ruthlessly.

If your “great idea” can’t do that,
It’s not a great idea.

Stop explaining.
Start deleting.