Blog - plain text english - The Art of Communicating

The prerequisite

A question that’s not asked nearly often enough when preparing a speech:

So what?

Your talk can be
… factually correct,
… logically structured,
… accompanied by beautifully designed slides,

and still fail to
… make an impact,
… change your audience’s thinking,
… let alone compel them to act.

Why?

Because it lacks a compelling answer to that simple question:

So what?

Audiences look for an answer to this simple question every time and if they can’t find one, they will simply tune out.

Sooner or later they will just stop paying attention.

But without attention, change can’t happen.

Any effort you put into structure, wording, or design will likely be a waste of time until you can compellingly answer why your audience should care.

So answer that one first.

The more compelling your answer is, and the earlier you provide it during your speech, the more likely it is that you will have their attention.

That one message

If I forced you to remove one message from your website, which one would you remove?

Why don’t you?

.
.
.

No, honestly now:
Would removing that message make your story weaker or stronger?

We seldom look at it that way. Most people just evaluate completeness. Through that lens, it’s obvious that nuance and detail will be missing when you remove that message.

But will that make your story weaker?
Or perhaps stronger?

Act accordingly!

PS: So what did you do? Did you leave it, remove it, or change it? I’d love to read about your choice!

What do you mean?

This one’s so obvious that I hesitated to post it, but then again it’s so often dismissed that I think it’s important to repeat: If you want your audience to get what you mean, say what you mean.

So often, people just don’t trust in their plain words.

They look for fancier ways of saying what they mean.
Try to make it sound more spectacular.
Or more eloquent.
Professional.

Rather than simply clearer ways of saying what they mean.

But the truth is that
… clear beats clever.
… relatable beats fancy.
… tangible beats spectacular.

Just say what you mean.
In plain and simple language.

Your speech is a gift

Whether it’s to share insights or to shift perspectives, whether it’s to motivate or to entertain … there are many ways in which your speech can be a gift to your audience.

Don’t you agree that giving a gift generally feels good?

In case of your speech it shifts the focus from your performance to the value you’re providing. You don’t have to ‘perform’ but instead you just share generously.

No pressure there, right?

Why then does giving a speech often feel not so good? Where does the pressure, stress, and nervousness come from?

Perhaps it’s because you’re expecting to get something in return. Which, to me, actually doesn’t qualify as truly giving anymore, does it?

Worse, some speakers show up to only take … their audience’s time, money, support, goodwill, …

When you show up to take or even just to get something in return, you’ll be under immense pressure to succeed. Pressure, though, rarely serves confidence well.

But when you change your lens, that dynamic changes.

When you show up to generously share your experience, the audience will actually be rooting for you because they really want you to succeed. They are on your side.

They don’t see you as a pickpocket for their time or approval anymore. People naturally root for the giver, the sharer, the storyteller.

And that can be a calming thought.

So, be that person and turn your speech into a gift.

PS: This is a short excerpt from my free eBook “Speak Easy” with a simple 4 step approach to show up with more confidence. Download it here: https://michaelgerharz.com/speak-easy

Conversations

Audiences are regularly surprised to find themselves in the middle of a conversation when they expected to sit through a monologue.

With smaller audiences it’s easy to have an actual conversation, but even with bigger audiences you can get pretty close to making it feel like one.

Actually, many of the tools you’d use in a conversation, work in a speech too, such as eye contact, questions (even if just rhetorical), a moment of pause for reflection etc.

But, probably most importantly, the words you use.

If you stop using corporate speak.
If you ditch the industry buzzwords.
And instead just use words you’d normally use in a conversation …

… the one you’d have with a friend in the bar …

… that’s when your speech will feel remarkably akin to that conversation in the bar.

To me, the best speeches feel like conversations.

What do you think?

The Evolution of Leadership

First we had command & control.
Then came the carrot & the stick.
Today we have leading by example.
Next is lighting the path.

Let’s take a closer look at them:

Command & Control: This is one of the earliest leadership styles, often associated with military or hierarchical corporate structures. It involves clear, top-down directives where leaders make decisions and expect subordinates to follow without questioning. The focus is on obedience, discipline, and order, which can be effective in crisis situations or industries where safety and precision are paramount.
Carrot & Stick: This approach integrates rewards and punishments to motivate employees. It stems from behaviorist theories which propose that behavior can be controlled by consequences. Here, leaders use incentives (carrots) to encourage desirable actions and penalties (sticks) to deter unwanted behaviors. While more interactive than command and control, this method can still be seen as somewhat manipulative and may not foster genuine intrinsic motivation.
Leading by Example: Modern leadership increasingly emphasizes leading by example, where leaders themselves embody the behaviors and values they wish to instill in their teams. This approach builds trust and encourages team members to act similarly through a powerful demonstration of commitment and ethical behavior. It’s more collaborative and less authoritarian, promoting a culture of mutual respect and shared goals.
Lighting the Path: This future-oriented leadership style focuses on vision-setting and empowerment. Leaders “light the path” by providing clear visions of the future, inspiring innovation, and fostering an environment where team members are empowered to take initiatives and contribute ideas. It’s about facilitating growth and development, encouraging autonomy, and supporting team members in navigating challenges.

Finding the right words makes the leader’s life easier in any of these stages. But there’s no lighting the path without great communication.

When will you make the leap?

Keep lighting the path!

If only they knew

A big mistake in communication is to assume that others would arrive at the same conclusions as you do if only they knew the same.

But that’s not true.

They have a different frame of reference.
They have a different set of values.
They’ve made different experiences.

And so, even if both of you have the exact same information, they may still arrive at a different conclusion.

Which means that there’s no use in bombarding them with ever more facts and details that support your conclusion.

It won’t change their mind.
They have already perfectly understood your point.
Missing information is not the problem.
They will still arrive at a different conclusion.

A better way forward is to try and understand their perspective.

What makes them arrive at that conclusion?
What do they see when they look at the question at hand?
What does it remind them of?
Which values are at play?

This puts you in a much better situation to answer the next set of questions:

What would need to be true for them to arrive at a different conclusion? (Is there a way for me to make it true?)

What would be an outcome that makes sense for them? (Is there a way for me to create that outcome?)

What do they really want? (Is there a way for me to make it easier for them to get it?)

I’d love to hear your strategies for dealing with situations where the others seemingly just don’t get it.

PS: If you want help in finding better words, not just more words, reach out!

The star of the show

The star of the show is not always the hero of the story.
In fact, in business, they are hardly ever the same.

The star might be Canva, the user-friendly graphic design tool, but the hero is the small business owner who becomes a confident designer.

The star might be Amazon Web Services, the scalable cloud computing platform, but the hero is the fledgling tech startup who becomes an industry innovator without the need for massive capital investment.

Or the star might be the famous public speaker who captivates the room with eloquence and insight, but the hero is the individual in the audience who sees a new path ahead.

Who’s the star of your show?
Who’s the hero?

The hero’s pedestal

Here’s a little secret for everyone who feels at least a little pressure when going on a stage to give a speech.

Everyone in the audience already has a hero: themselves.

They don’t show up to cheer for you.
They want you to cheer for them.

Which is pretty good news for you because it means that you can stop trying so hard to appear as the hero.

The hero’s pedestal is a notoriously difficult place to be at.

All eyes are on you.
Everyone expects you to save the world from evil.

Which means there’s a constant pressure of proving that you deserve standing up there.

Essentially, it creates a disconnect.

You, the extraordinary, stand high up on the hero’s pedestal while they, the normals, are down on the floor.

This disconnect isn’t just uncomfortable.
It’s a barrier.
To engagement.
To impact.
To transformation.

That changes the moment you switch your role to that of the mentor who helps the audience live up to the hero’s expectations.

When you frame your audience as the heroes, it flips the script on the typical speaker-listener dynamic. It’s empowering and ennobling for them.

Rather than ask “What will impress them?” you ask the (more important) question of “What will help them?”

It eases the pressure on you, because the focus shifts from proving yourself to aiding them.

How might viewing your audience as heroes transform your next presentation? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

PS: This is a short excerpt from my free eBook “Speak Easy” with a simple 4 step approach to show up with more confidence. Download it here: https://michaelgerharz.com/speak-easy

Split Attention

This principle has served me well in the past:
Don’t split your attention!

I don’t check my phone when in a conversation. I don’t chat when watching a movie. I don’t listen to new music when writing, I don’t read when I listen to new music, I don’t clean the kitchen while listening to a podcast, etc.

On the flip side, if I feel that what I’m currently doing doesn’t deserve my full attention, I very much prefer looking for something that does …

… rather than split the attention with a second thing.

What’s your approach?

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