Sorry – I’ll try (mostly) to use my inside voice the rest of this email.
I’ve become overly sensitive to how my fellow consultants sell themselves.
I thought everyone knew the old adage, “Don’t tell me, show me.”
But too many people seem to be yelling at me about how BRILLIANT, ASTUTE, CLEVER, INSIGHTFUL, FUNNY, CULTURALLY ATTUNED, CONNECTED, YOU-FILL-IN-THE-BLANK they are. And don't forget the AMAZING RESULTS you'll get if you hire them!
It may be lazy writing as much as anything. It’s hard to write directly, concisely and powerfully, especially when you’re writing about intangible services.
I’ve wondered for a long time what it would sound like if someone whispered. Well, this is what it sounds like.
I LOVE THIS PROMO!!! It’s funny. (That face mask lol!!) It’s memorable. And it shows us so much about Iceland and Icelanders without ever saying, “We’re understated, self-deprecating and willing to laugh at ourselves.”
It’s not easy to whisper. You’ve got to buck your fear you’ll be drowned out by everybody else. You have to strip off your bravado and artifice and be willing to let people see the real you.
But in bringing down the volume, you allow us to come closer. You convey respect for our intelligence and humanity. You invite us to drop our defenses, because you’re ringing our doorbell rather than breaking down the door with a battering ram.
Sure, you might lose some people who don’t get it or who don’t have the patience to lean in to the subtlety.
But they’re not your audience anyway, right?
So next time you want to stand out, maybe dial it down and whisper.
And who's up for a trip to Iceland?
Thanks for reading!