Speaking up on their behalf

When Simon Sinek or Brené Brown tweet a sentence, it gets them 1000 likes and 100 retweets in a matter of minutes.

When you (or I) tweet the same sentence, it doesn’t work that way.

So, why do people love these words when Sinek or Brown say them but not when you do?

Because you’re a stranger while Sinek and Brown are not. In fact, for many in their audience they are heroes. And as such, they speak up on behalf of their audience. They say out loud their audience’s thoughts.

The appeal of their tweets is not that their audience agrees with the celebrity but the other way around. For the audience, it feels like their hero agrees with them.

And this is why it matters whether you’re a stranger or not. Because nobody cares for when a stranger agrees with them. They don’t know you and so you haven’t earned the right to speak on their behalf.

It’s been the same for the celebrity when she wasn’t famous, yet.

The safest way to earn the right to speak on their behalf is consistency. Show up consistently, speak the truth consistently, capturing your audience’s thoughts consistently. And have a little patience.

“About us” – but who is us?

There’s a better way to write an “about us” page than the usual way.

The “us” in the “about us” is usually taken to refer to the company that writes the “about us” page. But it becomes so much more effective when we broaden the meaning to include the audience.

So that they discover that this company shares their values and values the same kinds of things. This company is “one of us”.

Us – that’s not only us who write the page, it’s us who belong to our tribe.

This is similar to what great movies do. It’s the hero we look at, but it’s us who we see.

With the “about us” page we can make it obvious that we’re one of them. E.g. that we’re creatives just like them. Or that we’re just as much in love about the details as they are. Or just as crazy about biking as they are. “Us” includes both – the company and the customers.

This kind of an “about us” page takes your audience by surprise. When visiting the page, they expect to read the usual blurb about the company background, buildings, figures etc. But what they really find is a profound truth about themselves.

Of course, what’s required is a profound understanding of these values. To live them and speak the truth.

But when you do, things get so much easier because now, our communication automatically resonates deeply with what matters to our audience. Because it’s who we are. And who they are.

Spread the Word

Picture of Dr. Michael Gerharz

Dr. Michael Gerharz