I'm OK; The Bull (Run) Is Dead
On corporate communication
Have you ever read something, paused for a head tilt, and realized you had no idea what you just read?
I know I have. Many times throughout my career. Sometimes it’s in a pitch deck, sometimes it’s on a website, sometimes it’s in an email. Heck, sometimes it’s paragraph after paragraph of confusion! Or a panelist rambling at a conference! Doesn’t matter the medium; the problem is the content.
Here’s how I like to think about professional communication.
Direct communication is a sign of respect. You’re saying to someone, “I know you have limited time. That’s why I focused on the critical points first.”
Unfortunately, most corporate culture in the U.S. prioritizes putting on airs rather than being geniune. I’ve said it once (a few times, rather) and I’ll say it again. No one likes disingeniuty! In fact, it’s the quickest way to not be liked.
Why do we struggle to say what we mean?
Because it’s difficult.
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” - Steve Jobs
Fortunately, these days, we have tools for clean thinking. AI/LLMs make it easier than ever to refine content. That said, don’t use your AI assistants to draft; most people don’t have a strong enough voice to edit it into their phrasing*. Besides, half the time the LLM isn’t quite right. It’s usually enough for decently competent person on the topic to suss out. Instead, use AI/LLMs to edit. Or use a tool like Hemingway, which will alert you to wordy, unclear sentences, and then edit it yourself. Let these tools help you convey your message more clearly, more succinctly.
*When I do have to write a super long essay, I’ll admit that I use ChatGPT as a starter. My trick—beyond rewriting certain sentences to make them sound like me—is that I intentionally make grammar mistakes. That way, the reader knows it wasn’t written by Claude or ChatGPT or whatever hot new AI assistant is running the world!
You may think of improving your written and oral communication as primarily a sales or marketing or investor relations activity, but the truth is, we’re all communicating all of the time. You could be pitching a new project for your team or an investment you want your firm to make. And most of the time, that communication isn’t great.
I’ll be the first to admit that I need to improve. 🙋🏻♀️ Sometimes, I’ll get halfway through a story only to realize that my listener mentally checked out. Somtimes, I try to save it. Other times, I interrupt myself and move on. This happens more often than I’d like to admit.
How can we improve, then?
Start with the end.
One of my coworkers recently shared this story with me. It’s the story of an engineering leader who raised his son to be a great communicator. The father has a specific framework for effective, clear, and direct communication. When the son got into a car accident, he calmly explained to his father, “I’m OK; the bull is dead.” Then, the son provided the rest of the important details.
His method of communication is called the inverted pyramid style. It’s borrowed from journalism and looks like this.
The author of the story, Gopal Kapur, offers the below framework for communication. Specifically, he advises it be used in professional settings. You’ll see that from his examples.
1. Punch line: The facts; no adjectives, adverbs or modifiers. “Milestone 4 wasn’t hit on time, and we didn’t start Task 8 as planned.” Or, “Received charter approval as planned.”
2. Current status: How the punch-line statement affects the project. “Because of the missed milestone, the critical path has been delayed five days.”
3. Next steps: The solution, if any. “I will be able to make up three days during the next two weeks but will still be behind by two days.”
4. Explanation: The reason behind the punch line. “Two of the five days’ delay is due to late discovery of a hardware interface problem, and the remaining three days’ delay is due to being called to help the customer support staff for a production problem.”
Most of the time, your listener or reader doesn’t care about why something happened nearly as much as what happened. That’s why it’s critical to lead with the punch line.
You can and should use Kapur’s framework for website content (including your home page), pitch decks, sales decks, panel presentations, etc. Anytime you have a one-sided conversation because you’re presenting to >3 or so people, it’s really hard to know if you’ve hooked your audience on the story. For that reason, it’s best to start with the end.
As I hinted, it doesn’t always make sense to use this framework in one-on-one social settings. That’s because you get a lot more feedback in one-on-one conversations and can pivot quickly. Still, it can and will be an effective for many of us who tend to get long-winded. Myself included!
Speaking of long-winded, we’ve had a longer bull run than the median expectation. According to a recent article by the NASDAQ, “The current S&P 500 bull market began on October 12, 2022 -- or 641 days ago, as of this writing [on July 16, 2024]. By that measure, this upswing has already lasted longer than the median bull market.” Most pundits say that interest rate cuts are all but certain. This can only help our real estate investor friends, who’ve been cost-cutting like crazy these past few years. Finally, some relief! Refis and recaps, anyone?
Remember: You’re OK, even if the bull run is dead.
Jen’s Reading Corner
If you really want to up-level your storytelling game, read This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley. It’s a super quick read. His book provides a wonderful overview of the art of novel-writing, which in my mind, is the same as storytelling.
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Love the inverted pyramid method for delivering information in a professional environment. Especially with our attention spans getting shorter and shorter each year.