“No, you don’t have to do it like that.”

When I say these words, you can literally see them break free and unleash their imagination. Free at last! Free to speak in a way that fits to who they are. Free to communicate in a way that we can feel their passion. Sense why this is so near and dear to their heart. Understand how much care has gone into this.

I’m baffled by how often I hear these mental shackles: “You must do this!”, “You must not do that”, “You must use this and that structure”, “You must not use raw facts”, “You must start with your Why!”, “You must do this, you must not do that, you must …”.

You don’t have to do any of this. People fall in love with you because of who you are and how you do things. They don’t fall in love with the polished template of all the “that’s what everyone does” of this world. Only because something works for most doesn’t mean that there can’t be a better way for others. People are different, topics are different, listeners are different.

Finding out what suits you is much more valuable than doing what others do. Look around, learn from others, and then do it your way.

Check out my new book
The PATH to Strategic Impact

Get The Art of Communicating in your inbox.
Change minds, drive action, and turn confusion into clarity.

    I value your privacy. No spam. Just “Great stuff, brilliantly articulated” (to use the words of longtime reader David).

    Read More

    Moments of silence

    When we’re about to give a talk we’re mostly concerned about the words we’re going to say. We’re not so used to think about the

    Read »

    Why we meet in person

    You know what I love about a fireside chat? There’s no stage performance, no scripted slides, no pressure to sound smart. It’s just two people

    Read »