If someone asked your audience, “So, what was the point?” five minutes after you spoke, would they get it right?
Turns out, clarity isn’t what makes sense to you. It’s what sticks with them.
If they can’t repeat it, they didn’t get it.
If they can’t get it right, it wasn’t clear for them.
And that’s where most messages fall apart. Not because they weren’t well thought out. But because they weren’t pass-along clear.
It might even have made sense to the audience in the moment.
They did nod along.
They agreed.
But what matters is what they say when you’re not in the room anymore.
What do they pass along?
That’s your actual message.
And if it’s not what you intended, then all the effort that went into crafting your words was wasted.
You can have the sharpest message in the world, but if it doesn’t click in someone’s mind in a way that lets them pass it on, it’s just noise.
That’s why the best place to start isn’t with what sounds good to you but with what they will tell the next person.
Listen for the words they’d naturally say.
And find the pass along phrase they’d actually use.
(Hint: It’s always short.)
I put together a simple cheat sheet to help you find your pass along phrase. It’s free to download on my website. Hope you’ll find it useful.
Keep lighting the path!