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It’s complex

“My idea is complex, I can’t possibly leave this aspect out or that. I mean, what if someone misses the thing I’d leave out? It could just cost me the deal.”

Which is probably true! You might miss out on some opportunities. You might leave money on the table.

If the message gets through, that is. Because that’s what’s at stake. The fuzzier your messaging and the harder it is for your audience to pinpoint what it is that you want them to know, the harder it gets to have anything stick – let alone the right thing.

Audiences love focus. You shouldn’t be afraid of focus. You should be afraid of lack of focus.

Toxic vagueness

Some people cover everything they say in a fuzzy layer of vagueness so they can never be questioned or challenged.

It’s a sign of a toxic work culture.

Healthy work cultures invite questions. In a healthy work culture you’re keen to seek out the challenge.

In a toxic work culture, it’s often more about the person than anything. Ultimately, of course, about who’s to blame if something fails. So you better cover yourself.

In a healthy work culture, the opposite is true. It’s about the destination and how we can best get there. As a team. And so you seek out the loopholes.

Clarity is the tool to achieve this. Leaders who light the path invite it.

Simple words

I’m not impressed when someone uses complex words. I’m impressed when they can say complex things with simple words.

That’s what differentiates leaders who light the path. They are the ones who invest the time to find those simple words. So that the team (or the customer) can see what they need to see.

Which is far more valuable than to brag about how eloquent they are.

It’s invaluable to be the one who invests that time when no-one else does.

What do you mean?

It’s a simple question that changes everything.

And yet, we often shy away from using it rigorously.

We notice that the team member uses a vague statement to gloss over their lack of preparation. But we’re polite and let them get away with it.

Another team member might be struck by The Curse of Knowledge and uses language that most of the team don’t fully understand. But we let her get away with it because she’s the genius.

A third one might make a hand-wavy claim and we let him get away with it because “it’s just a thought”.

This helps no-one. It might feel easier in the moment but it slows everything down in the long run.

“What do you mean?” is a really simple question. When you use it rigorously (as opposed to ruthlessly) it benefits the whole team. When you use it to clarify (as opposed to finger-pointing) it removes misunderstanding.

Clarity is your responsibility.

All amounts to something in the end

A golden rule in storytelling is that anything the author spends much time on will amount to something in the story.

If it didn’t, the editor would certainly have cut it out. It’s just bloat that makes the story longer but not better. It adds detail without adding meaning.

Now, look at your website. Does anything you spend much time on amount to something in your story? Or is there content that makes the page longer but not better, information that adds detail without adding meaning?

A good editor would cut it out.

Struggle with focusing on a core message?

If you struggle with focusing on a core message, here’s some good news for you: Your audience will happily do the job for you.

The bad news? You might not like their choice.

Better to find the courage to focus yourself.

Consider the of course effect

In chasing the “wow effect”, many businesses overlook the “of course effect”.

The of course effect is what makes it a no-brainer to choose your product. It’s what makes people wonder why no one else had that idea before.

The of course effect makes people get accustomed to a product so quickly that they would miss it after the first use should someone dare to take it away from them.

The central locking system on cars was an of course effect. The skip intro button on Netflix was an of course effect. The double click to zoom on iPhones was an of course effect.

Of course effects are way stronger than wow effects.

What’s the of course effect in your offering?

A quick point

No one was ever angry at someone for getting to the point quickly.

The simple words habit

The more you know about something, the harder it gets to speak about that thing in simple terms, right?

Well, unless you’ve committed to the simple words habit.

The default way when you dig deeper into something is that you adopt the jargon and use domain language to efficiently communicate with other experts in that field (also, it makes you feel a bit proud to finally be able to say “I’m going to superimpose A major on that scale”, doesn’t it?). The terms you use get ever denser meaning. For you and your colleagues, everything feels super clear. For outsiders it becomes ever harder to understand what you mean.

But there’s a different way. As you dig deeper, rather than change your language, you can change your thinking. Rather than restrict yourself to the new language, you can force yourself to express new thoughts in your existing language.

The irony is that this usually leads to an even more profound understanding of your field. Because, let’s be honest: that clarity that we felt when we used the jargon … that’s often just on the surface, isn’t it?

So, the simple words habit actually does two things. It brings us way closer to our audience and it deepens our own understanding so that we can come up with more meaningful results.

What are you currently working on? Can you describe it using simple words?

Instant clarity calls

I’m launching a new service: Instant clarity calls.

It’s for you if you‘ve been juggling ideas in your mind for days and feel that right now, you need to put that to an end. Finally, it’s time to find clarity.

You might be juggling a bunch of opportunities and feel that now it’s time to focus and commit to one? Let’s do that.

Or you’re chewing on your messaging and feel that now it’s time to stop the guessing? Let’s break out with a fresh take.

Maybe you’re facing a keynote speech and just can’t find the perfect angle for your topic? Let’s nail it.

Or the Curse of Knowledge has been playing tricks on you and you need that external view? Let’s go for it.

Sometimes, all you need is just the right question to move you forward. Instant clarity calls do that for you.

Book yours here: Instant clarity call.

For the launch of this new service, I’m giving away five coupon codes to readers of this blog. Use coupon code “CLARITY” at checkout to get 30% off. First come, first serve. Offer valid until June, 26th. The actual coaching sessions can be later.

Spread the Word

Dr. Michael Gerharz

Dr. Michael Gerharz