You know what word we almost never hear in business conversations about communication?
Beautiful.
We talk about messages being clear. Concise. Strategic.
But beautiful? Never.
And yet, when a message truly resonates, that’s exactly what it is. Beautiful.
Isn’t it?
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that artificially decorating a message to make it look prettier will make it the least bit more effective.
I’m also not suggesting to look at this as poetry.
It’s more like the other way around.
When it’s effective, it’s almost always also beautiful.
Even if you didn’t think at all about intentionally making it so.
For example, when form and meaning are perfectly aligned. When the words feel inevitable. When the audience doesn’t just understand the point but feels it.
That’s beauty, isn’t it?
Or when everything unnecessary falls away and only the essence remains. When a phrase captures a truth so clearly that it makes people pause. When it feels as if those words have always been waiting to be said.
That’s also beauty, no?
Don’t get me wrong though. Beauty is not really the point here.
But in my experience it’s a fantastic measuring stick.
If you look at your message, your keynote, your email, and you don’t think “This is beautiful,” I’ll passionately argue with you that you might not be there yet.
I would immediately get suspicious. Is it really 100% sound? Clear? Does it say exactly what you want it to say?
If it’s not beautiful, I bet that it doesn’t.
What I find fascinating is that your gut will immediately tell you. We’re just not used to listening to it. But once you do listen, it becomes your compass. You know you need to keep tweaking until it’s also beautiful.
And that’s the reason why what the best leaders say is often beautiful.
Curious what you think. Have you ever looked at your communication this way? What role does beauty play in your communication?
Keep lighting the path,
Michael
