Creating Impactful Messaging

How to Speak So That People Listen to You The 10-Second Rule Ever shared a great idea, only to be met with silence? Meanwhile, someone else says something similar - and everyone listens. Here’s the truth: People don’t listen to what’s important. They listen to what’s clear, compelling, and concise. Master the 10-Second Rule and get heard! 1. Deliver your main idea within 10 seconds. ↳ The brain filters out complexity to save energy. ↳ Clarity lowers cognitive load, easier to process. ↳ Clarity wins. Try this: 🚫 "So, the other day I was thinking about..." ✅ "We’re losing leads because emails aren’t personalized. Here’s how to fix it." 2. Use their name - it grabs attention. ↳ The brain focuses when it hears its name. Try this: 🚫 "I have an idea." ✅ "David, here’s a strategy that could work." 3. Lower your voice slightly for emphasis. ↳ A deeper, slower voice signals authority. Try this: Lower your pitch and slow down on key points. 4. Pause after key points - let them land. ↳ Silence makes words feel weightier. Try this: Stop talking after key points. Let silence do the work. 5. Look for nods or engagement before continuing. ↳ Conversations, not monologues, hold attention. Try this: If people look confused, pause and ask, "Would an example help?" 6. Use short, clear sentences. ↳ The brain tunes out complex wording. ↳ Simplicity keeps people engaged. Try this: 🚫 "We need to streamline our processes to improve efficiency and reduce bottlenecks." ✅ "We need to simplify our workflow. Let’s focus on 3 key areas." 7. Make it about them, not you. ↳ People care about their priorities, not yours. Try this: 🚫 "I think this is a great idea." ✅ "This will help you hit your Q2 targets faster." 8. Speak as if telling a story. ↳ Stories stick - facts don’t. Try this: 🚫 "Customer satisfaction dropped 10% last quarter." ✅ "Last quarter, 100 customers didn’t get a resolution in time. Here’s what changed." 9. Pause for 2 seconds before speaking. ↳ Signals confidence. ↳ Prevents rushing or hesitation. Try this: Count “1, 2, 3…” in your head before speaking. Confident speakers make it easy for others to understand them… and that’s power. Which of these resonated most with you? Share in the comments. ♻️ Repost and support your network ➕ Follow Meera Remani for strategies on leadership growth

85% feel anxious stepping in front of an audience. And that’s perfectly normal. But here’s the thing: Leadership isn’t about having the loudest voice – it’s about commanding attention with confidence and clarity. Here’s how to do exactly that - even if speaking in public makes you nervous: 🔹 Grab Attention Fast You only get 10 seconds before people switch off. Skip the “Thanks for having me.” Lead with something bold, surprising, or personal. 👉 Example: “Everything you believe about leadership? It’s likely wrong.” 🔹 Command the Stage Your non-verbal cues speak before you open your mouth. Stand upright, hold eye contact, and pause intentionally. This signals authority - even if you’re nervous inside. 🔹 Slow Down and Stay Clear Anxious speakers often race through words. Slow down. Keep sentences sharp and pause often.  Remember: Impactful communication is about connection, not perfection. 🔹 Create Interaction, Not a Performance Forget memorizing scripts. Instead, invite your audience into the conversation.  👉 Example: “Who here has faced this challenge before?” 🔹 Leverage the BMW Principle True confidence = Body + Mind + Words working in harmony. BODY: Breathe, ground yourself, and use meaningful gestures. MIND: Focus on serving your audience, not impressing them. WORDS: Be clear, avoid fillers, and embrace pauses. 👉 Example: Before stepping up, pause, ground your feet, and remind yourself – they need this message. 🔹 Handle Q&A Like a Leader Q&A often derails weak communicators.  Use the ABC Technique to stay on message: A: Answer briefly. B: Bridge to your key point. C: Communicate with clarity. 🔹 Close with Impact Too many talks fade at the end. Be intentional. End with a single clear takeaway and inspire action.  👉 Example: “If you remember one thing — let it be this: [insert key idea here].” Leadership isn’t about loving public speaking. It’s about making people listen. 💡 What’s your best tip for owning the room? Share it below ⬇️ 📌 Follow me, Oliver Aust, for daily leadership communication insights that make people listen.

“Our messaging is not working” Enrique Ortiz, a veteran conservationist and founding member of the Andes Amazon Fund, has spent decades translating the complexities of ecosystems into action. But in his recent commentary for Mongabay, he issues a striking critique—not of science itself, but of how it’s conveyed. “Facts are not the most important part,” Ortiz writes. “The current narrative needs a re-thinking.” That rethinking, he argues, begins not with more data, but with deeper insight into how people process information, make decisions, and respond emotionally to the world around them. Ortiz’s concern is not that people are unaware of climate change. In fact, the majority of the global population acknowledges it. But many remain unmoved, caught in a web of abstract language, ideological filters, and emotional distance. Scientific accuracy, while essential, often falters in the face of cognitive and cultural barriers. Ortiz points to the findings of cognitive scientists and neuroscientists: facts rarely shift belief systems. Instead, people gravitate toward stories, experiences, and social cues. “When facing uncertainty,” he notes, “humans make decisions that are satisfactory, rather than optimal.” This disconnect, Ortiz argues, is especially clear in environmental communication. Words like “rewilding,” “green,” or “ecological” may have once inspired clarity, but have since become muddled through overuse or conflicting interpretations. Worse, they sometimes trigger skepticism or backlash. In this fog of abstraction, the human connection is lost. What’s needed, Ortiz suggests, is a new narrative strategy—one that harnesses the emotional power of stories and speaks to how people actually think and feel. He draws from his own experience as an educator: while his lectures on plant-animal interactions faded from memory, it was the stories that lingered. This phenomenon, known as “narrative transportation,” isn’t mere sentimentality. It’s a neurological reality that helps ideas stick—and decisions shift. Rather than continuing to warn of catastrophe, Ortiz believes we should share stories of adaptation and resilience. From Andean farmers modifying how they grow quinoa and potatoes, to everyday consumers making environmentally conscious choices, these narratives offer agency and hope. They bridge divides and foster shared values. “Our messaging is not working,” Ortiz writes bluntly. “We need a revolution in narratives—and in how we tell them.” That revolution may begin not in the lab or the newsroom, but in the quiet space where empathy meets understanding—and where change can finally take root. 📰 His piece: https://lnkd.in/gmrWBcc5 📸 Hoatzin. My photo.

A canteen sign caught my attention this week. 👇 Well-intentioned. Visible. Updated daily. In many ways, admirable. But there's a problem. A behavioural science problem. When anyone reads that sign, they do the maths instinctively. 45kg. 180 people. That means hundreds of people wasted food yesterday. Which means wasting food is simply what people do here. It's the social norm. And we are hardwired to follow norms. Robert Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, calls this negative social proof — and Richard Shotton explores it brilliantly in his book The Choice Factory. When we communicate how widespread an undesirable behaviour is, we accidentally normalise it. The message designed to change behaviour ends up reinforcing it. It happens constantly in sustainability communication. And in safety. And in HR. And in finance. Anywhere people are trying to shift behaviour by leading with the scale of the problem. The fix is simple. Flip the statistic. Lead with what people are doing right. ✅ "Yesterday our diners ate 97% of everything they took. Help us make it 100% today." ✅ "97 out of 100 diners here take only what they need. Be one of them." Same situation. Completely different behavioural signal. Before you next communicate a sustainability message, ask yourself one question: am I leading with the problem or the norm I want people to follow? The answer might surprise you. Where have you seen negative social proof at work? Drop your examples below. 👇

Europe is the most fragmented market on earth. That makes it uniquely complex for brands. Unlike Australia or even the U.S., where scale can be achieved through a handful of dominant players, Europe is renowned for its diversity of markets. Each country brings its own mix of retailers, languages, and cultural nuances, sometimes shifting entirely within just a few hours’ drive. Supermarkets like Carrefour, Auchan, and Lidl each command enormous influence, yet even they adjust their strategies from country to country. For this reason, you can’t build a single campaign in Lisbon and expect it to resonate in Lausanne or Lyon. With multiple chains competing across each market, brands must fight harder for physical and mental availability. The challenge is being coherent, but not too uniform; maintaining distinctive brand assets that can flex across cultures and chains without your brand losing its foundations. The key is cultural literacy, understanding not just what’s sold, but why it resonates and adapting your otherwise stable brand ever so slightly to accommodate for this nuance. To put it simply, Europe rewards brands that can think globally but behave locally. Those who manage to balance both are the ones that cut through.

The big mistake in climate communication – and why half the population never even hears the message. In my feeds, climate and transition are often discussed as if the problem were information. As if more reports, more charts, or louder warnings would make people change their behaviour - if only we communicated them more clearly. That doesn’t seem to work. Instead, polarization grows. What if climate communication only reaches half of humanity? In my exploration of the ”ancient group” and our different cognitive orientations, it’s becoming clear that “climate denial” doesn’t necessarily come from unwillingness. Our nervous systems are simply calibrated in different ways. Some are attuned to concrete threats, social stability, and the here-and-now - not to abstract, systemic, long-term risks. That, to me, is fascinating. In the early human group, there were always two core orientations: The open orientation focused on future, patterns, abstraction, change The social orientation focused on order, concrete reality, proximity, continuity Both were needed. Both were forms of intelligence. Both helped us survive. But in today’s society these two polarities have been pulled apart. Which means we often speak in a language only some people can hear. Others hear something entirely different - not a threat to the planet, but a threat to identity, security, and belonging. That’s why we can look at the same graphs and interpret them in completely different ways. And this, I think, is essential for the work ahead. To succeed with transition, climate communication can’t rely on facts alone. It has to find a better balance: between change and stability, abstraction and the concrete, global ethics and local identity, the future and the present, the open and the social. So the climate crisis isn’t only ecological. It’s also a communication crisis, an identity crisis, and perhaps at its core - a crisis of duality. And as long as climate communication keeps: - speaking in abstractions - triggering guilt - overlooking identity …we’ll miss the people who are currently doing their best to stabilise a world that feels overwhelmingly threatened. If we assume this is true (and the research supports it), then climate communication would need to: create safety before it calls for change include all our different perspectives build relationships, not just arguments make risks more tangible offer role, dignity, and meaning in the transition The more I read and reflect on the ancient group, the more convinced I am that we need to create spaces where different nervous systems, different polarities, and different forms of wisdom can form a whole again. Where everyone contributes something essential. Only then can the climate crisis become a shared reality, and only then can we act as the species we actually are - built for collaboration, not fragmentation. * This is from the work for my upcoming book The Starting Point. Follow and support the work - link in bio.

Maybe the problem isn’t climate denial. Maybe it’s climate messaging. We’ve been attempting to scare or shame people into caring, and it’s not effective. Is it time to completely rethink how we talk about climate and sustainability? We've spent years trying to influence people through fear, data, and moral urgency. The results? Mixed. If we want genuine buy-in, we need to be honest about what’s isn’t working. Here are seven messaging mistakes we keep repeating. 1. Leading with Guilt and Doom: "We're killing the planet!" doesn't inspire - it overwhelms. Guilt sparks awareness, but rarely leads to action. 2. Talking About “The Planet” Instead of People People don’t wake up thinking about biodiversity - they think about bills, housing, jobs. Make climate personal. What can THEY GAIN out of changing their behaviour? 3. Assuming Rational Facts Will Change Behavior: 1.5°C Warming Is Essential, But Not Sufficient. Facts Inform, but Emotions Drive Action. 4. Using Elite, exclusionary language jargon, such as “net zero” and “green premiums,” alienates the majority. Sustainability can’t sound like it’s just for experts or elites. 5. Neglecting economic and social equity when we assume everyone can afford an EV or solar system, we lose trust. Green should be accessible to everyone - not just the wealthy. 6. Framing Green as Restriction, Not Opportunity: Less driving, flying, consuming... Where’s the upside? A green transition should feel like a win: lower bills, warmer homes, and cleaner air. 7. Treating Climate Like a Separate Issue. Climate isn’t separate from the economy, housing, or healthcare - it is those things. When we silo it, we shrink its relevance. So, how do we change the story? ✅ Speak to lived realities. Discuss how green policies improve everyday life, including jobs, bills, housing, and health. ✅ Shift from sacrifice to solutions. Replace “cut back” with “get more” - resilience, savings, mobility, and wellbeing. ✅ Make it simple. Use plain, human language. Instead of “decarbonize the grid,” say “cleaner, cheaper energy in every home. Help people to measure their carbon footprint.” ✅ Center fairness easily. Ensure that the benefits of sustainability are accessible - especially to those who have been historically excluded. ✅ Embed climate into everything. Don’t treat it like a separate crusade - show how it strengthens the economy, creates jobs, and benefits communities. ✅ Gemify climate action ✅ Give intrinsic value to change of behaviour and reducing carbon footprint. 👉 Time to stop scaring people into action - and start inspiring them with what’s possible. What language has been proven to be effective for climate and sustainability? Let’s share notes. ♻️ Repost this to help spread the word, please! 👉 Follow Gilad Regev for more insights like this.

🌍 New Series: "Mind the Gap – PR & Communication Across Borders" Ever tried launching a PR campaign in another country and thought, “Wait… why did that land like a lead balloon?” You're not alone. As someone who's navigated international communication for a while, I’ve seen firsthand how cultural nuance can make—or break—a message. So I’m kicking off a new series exploring how PR and communication differ around the globe. 👉 First up: Germany vs. the USA U.S. Communication: Enthusiastic, emotional, and yes—peppered with exclamation marks!!! Storytelling is king. Personal anecdotes and a strong “why” lead the way. Positivity sells. Even problems get rebranded as “growth opportunities.” German Communication: Direct, precise, and suspicious of unnecessary fluff. Facts first. Then more facts. Then a few more, just to be safe. Understatement rules. If a German says something is “not bad,” it might be worthy of an award. Example: An American press release might open with: “We’re thrilled to announce our exciting new partnership that will revolutionize the industry!” A German version? “Company A and Company B have entered a partnership effective May 15. Objectives include market expansion and product development.” Both are correct. Neither is wrong. But the context is everything. Takeaway: If you're crafting messages across borders, remember—it’s not just about what you say, but how it’s heard. ✨ Stay tuned for more posts comparing global comms styles—from Japan’s silence-as-a-power-move to Brazil’s beautifully fluid approach to formality. Have you run into cultural communication quirks in your PR work? I’d love to hear them! Chris Prouty, tell us about your experience as a US PR pro, please. #PR #Communication #CrossCulturalCommunication #Germany #USA #GlobalMarketing #Storytelling #Localization #InternationalBusiness

I was shocked at what I overheard at a café. Three girls sat next to me, chatting between sips of matcha-oreo lattes, when one of them said while showing a creator: “Honestly, her Instagram feels so fake! How is it possible to….’ This one line hit harder than caffeine. Because that’s exactly what most marketing has become Beautiful façades. Empty depth. The illusion of connection. We’ve built an industry obsessed with perception, not meaning. We sell lifestyles, not lives. And then we wonder why audiences stop trusting brands. Here’s the truth: People don’t want perfect. They want something that feels true. If you’re a brand/creator, here’s how you can do it. 1. Show the making, not just the made. → Behind-the-scenes, messy drafts, the “we’re figuring it out” phase, that’s where trust lives. 2. Turn your brand voice into a person. → Ask: If our brand could walk into this chat, how would it speak? Would it listen, interrupt, or connect? 3. Design for connection, not conversion. → The conversion will come when people feel seen, not targeted. Start Monthly Community activities. The next wave of marketing won’t be about perfection. It’ll be about presence. The brands that win will be the ones that make people pause mid-scroll and think 🤔 “ Damn, that’s me.”

As a leader, the WAY you deliver bad news often matters more than the news itself. Your team could walk away feeling deflated or inspired. But many leaders barrel forward with the conversation before they’re clear on what kind of message they need to convey. If you accidentally convey the wrong kind of message (even if it’s clear and transparent), you can drain your team’s trust and morale. That’s why you need to be clear on what kind of message you’re delivering before you communicate anything. This starts by asking yourself two questions: 1. Can we fix this? 2. Where does this problem come from? Those two answers determine which of four “bad news” messages you are delivering, and each one requires you to show up differently. 1. The “Fix It” Message When your organization created the problem, and it’s solvable, own it completely. My firm once hired the wrong agency to rebuild our website.  It cost us $300,000, inbound traffic collapsed, and our business stagnated. As an executive team, we owned it, communicated often, and reported progress openly. It took almost two years, but we fixed it. 2. The “Bounce Back” Message When external forces create the problem, but you can adapt, stay calm and specific. Your team needs to know how you’ll adapt and what success looks like. When COVID froze travel, Airbnb's CEO cut 25% of the workforce but explained why clearly and rallied the remaining team. That clarity helped them recover and IPO months later. 3. The “Shut It Down” Message When something isn’t working, and it’s time to end it, create closure. Honor the work, extract the learning, and spell out where resources will go next. Instagram’s cofounders shut down their AI news app a year after launch because the market opportunity wasn’t big enough to justify ongoing investment. They praised the team’s work while framing the closure as a strategic necessity. 4. The “Move On” Message When the world changes in ways that make your path untenable, help people release the past. Steve Jobs held a funeral for the old Mac operating system.  Organ music played, and a coffin sat on stage. The message was unmistakable…stop building for the old world and move your energy to Mac OS X. Each message needs empathy, appreciation, honest disclosure, and persuasion about what comes next. If you can name which moment you are in, you can communicate what your audience needs to hear. #Leadership #ExecutiveCommunication #ChangeManagement #CrisisCommunication