It took Leonard Cohen 80 draft verses before he settled on the final version of Hallelujah, the most recorded song of all time.
How many revisions do you go through before you decide that you’re not a natural born speaker? Because if your message doesn’t click yet, could it be that you’re still in draft 17?
Cohen says that …
“One is distracted by this notion that there is such a thing as inspiration, that it comes fast and easy.”
It does not, mostly.
Neither in music nor in speaking. It’s one of the big myths about communication that great communicators would be natural born talents. That they somehow pull those words out of nowhere and just nail it the first time.
And if you don’t, then you’re obviously not one of them.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. My experience is that great communicators just stick with it longer. Almost every clear message starts as a messy one. They become clear through the revisions.
When a message doesn’t click, try a different version.
And then another.
And another.
…
Until it finally does click.
Be honest, what version do you usually give up on?
Here’s the thing about that number. It’s not a measure of your talent. It’s simply where you decided to stop. But of course, “I’m not a natural born speaker” sounds much better than “I quit at draft four.” It has dignity. It sounds like an honest assessment of your limits rather than a decision you made this morning.
Maybe that’s why the myth persists. Not because anyone really believes it, but because it’s a respectable exit.
Leonard Cohen at verse 40 couldn’t know he would become that Leonard Cohen. He just had forty verses that weren’t good enough yet and no reason beyond stubbornness to keep going.
This is how talks become great. Not talent. Rigor. A determination to find an even clearer, more engaging way to say what you want to say.
And, by the way, that determination is something that natural born talents often lack. When you’re so good that you can hold the attention without having anything particular to say, at some point you tend to do exactly that.
That’s not what you want, I would assume. You’re not after the applause. You’re after the impact. And that’s reserved for those who actually have something to say. It’s a sign that you care about saying it right that it took draft 19.
Keep lighting the path,
Michael
PS: If you want my help saying it right, consider a 1:1 Clarity Lab. I won’t promise you to arrive there on the first attempt, but I’ll promise you that you’ll arrive at the version of your talk that feels like this is the one you’ve always wanted to give.
