Have something to say
The common trait great communicators share
Want to know the secret to being a great communicator?
Have something to say.
I don’t consider myself a particularly good communicator. I’m not a naturally gifted writer, and I was the kid who would pee down his leg if I had to get up and talk in front of the class. But I am a wonderer. I spend lots of my time thinking about life and people and all the things. The biggest change for me in how I communicate has been feeling a growing responsibility to share my reflections of the world with people I think it might help.
As I’ve grown, I’ve also come to appreciate great communication from great communicators. And the ones I admire most all have one thing in common: They all actually have something to say.
If you do not have something to say, it’s not time to talk or type yet.
It’s time to develop a point of view.
It’s tempting to feel like you need to add to the noise. We’re told we have to be consistent or feed the algorithm or any number of other tips we marketing people might share. But great communication requires patience. It takes wrestling with an idea until that something finally, and truly, takes shape.
The communicator’s job is to release an idea into the world. The best communicators aren’t communicating just so they can be heard. They communicate so the idea can be heard. Our job is to share the message the best we can. It’s then up to others whether the idea lands.
If we really want to communicate well, it’s about sharing something. It’s about wrestling an idea to the ground. It’s about becoming burdened with the obligation to get an idea out in the world.
The act of refining a message chisels it into your mind and heart. I rarely feel like I fully understand anything until I’ve put in the noble work of trying to communicate it well. I fight with the idea, so I can distill it down into its purest form.
When you have something to say, I don’t think you worry as much about being up in front of the class anymore. Because now it’s less about what people might think of you and more about helping people with how they might think about the world.