Allgemein Archive - Page 5 of 158 - The Art of Communicating

The art of resonance

The art of persuasion is the art of getting people to do something they didn’t want to do.

(If they wanted to do it, you wouldn’t have to persuade them.)

I prefer to resonate instead. That’s the art of aligning what you want with what they want.

Not with what they should want. But with what they do want.

The problem, of course, is in figuring out what that actually is – especially, given that they often don’t (and sometimes can’t) articulate it clearly.

Another problem is to figure out what it actually is that you want.

So it’s not that trying to resonate would be significantly easier than persuasion (if at all). The choice is more about how much you care about the other side.

What’s your perspective on this?

A more “you” way

We’re living in a time where the best choice of words might not be trusted due to the overuse of them where they shouldn’t be used.

What used to be a “nice try” is nothing short of “revolutionary” and
a “setback” turns into a full-blown “crisis”.
An outcome that’s “unexpected” must be a “miracle”,
any “fun” event is “epic” at least, and
a minor “development” is a “breakthrough”.

Of course, literally anything is potentially “life-changing”.

We just don’t trust in the original meaning of these words anymore.
You say “revolutionary”? I say “meh”!
If I care to pay attention at all, that is …

Click-bait, bullshit, and sensationalist marketing have ruined an astonishingly large part of our language.

But, well, it’s the game we’re in. There’s not much use in complaining.

The better reaction is to find better words. Words that are relevant and truly you. Words that can’t easily be copied or pulled out of context because they’re deeply personal and heartfelt. Words that are so specific to your idea that they loose their impact when pulled out of context.

Make no mistake, though. Bullshitters and click-baiters will always find ways to take advantage of language. Misuse of words will always happen.

But you can make it a little harder for them.

The more personal, the more specific your words are, the more they will be connected to your story, not theirs.

Essentially, it’s about a shift from the generic to the authentic. When it’s an authentic story, the impact of your words doesn’t depend on how sensational the words are but on how relatable the story is.

When people can relate because it’s genuinely – and uniquely – your story, that makes for more meaningful conversations. People will listen more attentively and engage more deeply.

As is so often the case, when everyone zig-zags staying consistent can make an incredible difference. In this case, when others chase the most sensational language, you use words you truly believe in about the things you deeply care about.

These words, spoken softly with simple but heartfelt words might sound louder than you think.

PS: Thanks David, for the inspiration to this post!

Living like you could die tomorrow

This short film about Ezra Caldwell has got me thinking on so many layers. I highly encourage you to watch it: The Bike Maker

Be sure to watch it until the end.

PS: I would love to hear what the biggest takeaway was for you. If you’re open to it, just hit reply to this message.

Heard and understood

The art of communicating is less about making yourself heard and understood than about making your audience feel heard and understood.

The distinction of great communicators is that they don’t just reach our ears and smarts; they touch our hearts.

An excellent tool

PowerPoint is an excellent tool to turn great ideas into confusing presentations.

Sure, it can be used to turn a great story into a great presentation. But mostly it does the opposite.

We’ve all seen it happen a little too often.

In PowerPoint, it’s easy to prioritize fluff over substance,
and cram slides with detail just because the space is there.

It’s easy to focus on aesthetics – fonts, colors, images, animations – while neglecting the foundational work of crafting a compelling, relevant story.

PowerPoint as a tool doesn’t particularly care for clarity or relevance, nor does it encourage that.

Essentially, PowerPoint is about filling slides, not telling stories.

It helps to keep that in mind when using the tool. The more we allow it to pull our attention away from the story we want to tell and direct it to filling slides, the more we risk wasting time on creating flashy but empty presentations.

Audiences don’t care nearly as much about fancy slides as you might think; they crave clear and engaging stories. If that’s with a beautifully designed slide … great, we’ll take it.

But if it’s fancy slides with a lame story, we’ll pass. (Let alone ugly slides!)

Don’t let PowerPoint lead your process. Start with clarity, understand your audience, and build your story first. Then, use PowerPoint to amplify your message in ways that words alone can’t.

That’s how you transform a well-thought-out narrative into a powerful presentation.

Resist the urge to start with slides.

Start with the story.

What if you couldn’t fail?

Yesterday, my friend Shane Cradock asked “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?”

It’s a powerful question and I’d like to dig a little deeper on it.

It helps to set aside our fears for the moment and think about the things that can be done if only there was no fear, no obstacles, no setbacks …

Now, if we look a little closer at the list of things that come up as an answer, it turns out that there’s an interesting subset of answers that stands out.

The ones that also answer this question:

“What would you do even if you knew you would fail?”

These are the things that we wholeheartedly want to do; things that are driven by our values and beliefs; things that deeply matter to us and that we believe carry the potential of making such a difference that it’s worth the hassle even if we wouldn’t succeed; things we would never compromise.

It’s the sweet spot in the set of answers that Shane has encouraged.

They might not have surfaced without the first question.

But now that they’re there, why not go for it?

The megaphone

You’re handed a megaphone. You can say whatever you want.
What do you choose to say?

Everyone around you will hear it.
But that, of course, is no guarantee that they will listen.

The only thing that’s certain is that they will hear it.

What do you think will make them listen? 
What do you think will make them pause?
What will make them come closer?
Or pass your message along?

This, essentially, is public speaking.
Only that you’re handed a microphone in place of a megaphone.

What do you choose to say?

Shortcuts

Great communication tends to be simple.
Not trivial, not simplistic, but profoundly simple.

Trivial messages take us nowhere.
Simplistic ones take us to the wrong places.
Profoundly simple ones light the path to unexpected places.

Both, trivial and simplistic, try to remove or replace the complexity. They pretend that things would be simpler than they actually are (which in the best case is mostly harmless, but in the worst case could be dangerous). They cut the conversation short and offer conclusions without the hassle of having to think it through.

Profoundly simple means something different.

It does not replace the complexity.
It makes it accessible.

It doesn’t aim to end the discussion but to spark the curiosity that allows the conversation to start and go deeper.

Can you tell your story in a profoundly simple way?

Seeing it

One of the most powerful questions to ask in order to speak with clarity is “Can you see it?”.

Because when you can see it, it means that you can describe what you see.

And when you describe it, this gives me a chance to see it, too.

If we stop our thinking short of seeing, this is what might happen: We speak about our ideas, “thinking” they are clear, only to discover that the words we use are not really clear to others.

(And, if we’re being totally honest, sometimes not even to ourselves.)

For example:

Innovative? How does that look like? What do you see?
Empowerment? How does that look like? What do you see?
Friendly service? How doest that look like? What do you see?
Open feedback culture? How does that look like? What do you see?

The truth is that people see different things when they hear these words. Being specific about what you see, helps to align their vision with yours.

The magic happens when “what you see” and “what I see” merge to form a “we see”.

Which allows the conversation to focus on the questions that matter to make happen what “we see”.

So, can you make me see what you see?

The words they use

Average communicators deliver information, good ones spark our interest, great ones redefine what’s possible for us.

All of them do it using words.

But what a difference the words they use make.

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