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Effortlessness

Looking at masterful communicators, you could get the feeling that they have a natural talent for communication, some sort of unfair advantage to find the

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A no-brainer

If customers knew everything that you know, it would be a no-brainer for them to buy from you, right? They would queue up in an

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Who is “us”?

This week, I’m asking one simple but important question each day for you to ponder (on your own or with your team): When a customer

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Their brilliance

This week, I’m asking one simple but important question each day for you to ponder (on your own or with your team): Good communicators know

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Cliffhangers

Cliffhangers s*ck. You wanna know so badly what happens next but the show just won’t tell you. You’ll have to come back for the next

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How is this different?

When you’re building a new product, the question “How is it different?” is mostly pointless. Because “different” can be hugely misleading as a metric. Business

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When clarity emerges

When clarity emerges, it immediately dissolves. Clarity invites new possibilities and opens up new directions. Which inevitably push clarity away. If you pursue the possibilities,

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Two comedians

Recently, I’ve been to two shows by two different comedians. The first show was sold out in a large event hall with 1500 seats. The

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Top speakers

Top speakers excel at speaking thanks to repetition. They deliver (basically) the same speech hundreds of times. If you listen to them multiple times in

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Would they agree?

When you think that this little detail is crucially important in your communication and can’t be left out under any circumstances, would your customers agree?

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Your problem

People love to turn their problem into your problem. “I got a call on the phone so I’m late to the meeting.” “My parking lot

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What if?

“What if we were only allowed to use environmentally friendly supply?” “What if we had to cut the price by half?” “What if we had

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The better deal

I’ve seen many pitches end in frustration as a result of begging for a yes. Sometimes that works. But often it doesn’t. The thing is:

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Handcrafted plates

Plates used to be handmade. Today, almost all plates are machine made. Most people are just fine with this but some still care for handcrafted

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Not so easy

Most questions that are worth investing the time to prepare a presentation for don’t have an easy yes-or-no answer. If there would be an easy

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Rational decision

Reminder: As humans we love to rationalize our decisions – rather than make rational decisions. That’s true for your customers, too. Therefore, it’s useful to

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Being right

It’s easy to win forgiveness for being wrong; being right is what gets you into real trouble. – Bjarne Stroustrup As a leader, it’s your

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Repeating yourself

Say something often and people will start to believe it. Repetition doesn’t make the thing you repeat any more true or false but people are

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Valuing my time

In a fast paced world like ours, attention is among the most precious resources of any audience. Which makes the ability to find the words

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After the pitch

After your pitch what happens? Often a pitch doesn’t lead to an immediate decision: “Thank you very much, we’ll think about it.” That’s why great

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Getting likes

Speaking of what you want to be known for: Make content around that, not what your audience is giving you likes for. What works in

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Attention to detail

Attention to detail is not the same thing as perfectionism.You can value the former and still beware of the latter. Attention to detail means caring

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How not to change minds

Insisting that you are right and the others are wrong has never changed anyone’s opinion. Repeating the same arguments, only louder, doesn’t work, either. Making

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Sales

Have you ever been tricked into buying something you didn’t even want? Perhaps the salesperson just found the right words to trick you into the

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The best listeners

“The best musicians are not the best players, they’re the best listeners.” – Pat Metheny Pat Metheny has won an incredible 20 Grammys and he

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Hot rotation

Hits are made in the hot rotation.That’s just as true for the huge no. 1 hits as it is for your personal favorites. When we

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Counter-force

Force tends to create counter-force.Push me and I’ll resist.Pull me and I’ll resist. But show me why it’s worthwhile to get there, and I’ll happily

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Focus: excellent

Now Taylor knows. And can act accordingly. She took my self-assessment and uncovered her core strength: focus, being able to cut to the core. She

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Open to change

Wow opens their mind. Aha changes their mind. Both are better together. Aha moments can’t happen when your audience doesn’t pay attention. Wow moments are

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Sophistication

Complexity tends to give the impression of sophistication. But actual sophistication lies in making things simpler, not more complex. So, let’s not make this more

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Explorations

What would happen if you made it more fun?Used some pink? Or instead made it a bit more subtle? What if you told a story?Or

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Backwards stories

Some of the best crime stories work backwards. We witness the murder and know who’s the murderer right from the start. And then we want

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Winning pitches

When you’re pitching an idea … … clear beats clever.… tangible beats sensational.… plain English beats jargon. I have yet to see an exception to

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Doomed to fail

Many great ideas have died as a result of status fights. In the meeting room it became more important whose idea it was rather than

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The first idea

Yesterday, I’ve spoken about how the first idea is often not the best idea. And yet, sometimes it is. The problem is that when that

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The second idea

Usually, the first idea is not the most creative. Nor the funniest. It’s not the most sophisticated. Nor the clearest. But the second idea wouldn’t

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3 questions

If the people on your team clearly see where we are going, why we are going there, and why we are going there, and if your actions suggest that you mean it (as opposed to just throwing some random motivational bullsh#t at them), it’s likely that the right people will be attracted and …

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“How long?”

“How long?”, she asks the doctor.Immediately, we’re right in the middle of a story. Which is typical for modern movies. It’s one of the aspects

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Singular

Secure the only spot at the airport that sells water and you can basically stop bothering about how you do business. It doesn’t really matter

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Still missing

Which book didn’t you write but could have?Which speech didn’t you give but should have?What’s the blog that doesn’t exist although you could write it?

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Edgy and weird

Average blends in.Edgy stands out. For example, there’s this super weird fashion store that draws an ever growing crowd of loyal superfans. It’s no wonder

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Culture Clash

When companies merge, cultures clash. The stronger the cultures, the bigger the clash; the bigger the clash, the stronger the future needs to be to

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What matters most?

Short reminder: If you don’t decide on what matters most, you’re effectively delegating that decision to your audience. What’s your focus for today?

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