Count yourself lucky if you have a gift and you’re eager to share it with the world. You’ve answered the call and you know your purpose. The vision is clear in your mind. But when it comes time to deliver your message and convey that vision to others, it’s easy to get stuck. Having a special talent is great, but if you can’t explain it to others and get them excited about it, you’re almost better off without it.

So how can you get over that hurdle, to get your audience from the feeling of “had to be there but wasn’t” to the “a-ha!” moment of enlightenment?

Knowing how to communicate your message is just as important as the service or skill you’re trying to share in the first place. And the more exceptional it is, the more essential it will be to explain it clearly. So before you get thoroughly tongue-tied, foiled by jargon, or smothered in subordinate clauses, consider these four simple steps to get your point across.

Step 1: Know your foundation

If you’re at all familiar with Balanced Brands and our core philosophy, you should know that we are big fans of Simon Sinek. We consider his mantra, “Start with why”, foundational to Brand Strategy, even to life itself. Check out his Ted Talk, and hopefully, you’ll see what I mean.

The point is pretty simple. Why you do something is a lot more interesting and important than what you do. It’s true for ourselves, as we all crave meaning in our lives, and need a reason to get up each morning and go to work or wherever it is we go. I mean, a reason other than, “I need to make money and pay the mortgage.”

But it’s even more important for those around us, especially if we’re trying to run a business or fill any role of leadership. People could admire what you do, to a point. But when they understand why you do it, and they share your values and motives, they will get behind you with all their heart. The way we feel about things can never compare to the passion we feel about ideas.

So what is the idea, in simplest terms, behind what you do? What is your why? Maybe the answer is obvious. Or maybe the question requires some deep soul searching and introspection. Either way, think about it, and talk about it with your friends, family and colleagues. Listen to how other people describe your vision.

Discuss your deeper purpose, the values you cherish, and the goals, both big and small, that you are trying to achieve. These things make up what we call your Brand Essence. Is it as clear to those around you as it is to you?

Work on that, and put it into words. And keep working on it until it’s crystal clear to everyone. But that doesn’t mean it’s finished. These ideas may serve as your North Star, but we live in a fast-changing world, and we need to be adaptable. Keep this Brand Essence documented somewhere and check in on it at least once a year. You’re not going to do a 180º, but you may need to refine your values and beliefs to keep current with social, political and economic events.

In all your actions and communications, this essence should guide you. You can state it explicitly in a mission statement and elsewhere on your website or in your office. But more importantly, it needs to shine through implicitly, in your actions and behaviors.

Step 2: Know your audience

With your vision, purpose and values planted firmly in your mind, it’s time to take a close look at your audience. If you have a message to deliver, it’s absolutely crucial that you understand who you are speaking to. And that means understanding them on a granular level.

In the parlance of our day, you need to know what makes them tick. What do they like and what do they want? Where are they in life and where are they headed? What do they love and what do they fear? Refer back to your Brand Essence, and with any luck, you’ll see a significant overlap between their values and yours.

When it comes to researching this audience, we like to think about two different categories of data: demographics and psychographics. Demographics describe the situation they are in, or where they fit in society. In other words, how old are they, married or single, children, race, religion, household income, magazine subscriptions, and so on.

But to know your audience on a deeper, emotional level, you need to know their psychographics. This is how they think about their situation, and how they respond to it. What do they really want from life? What are their hopes and dreams, their fears and pain points?

Ultimately, you can paint a well-rounded picture of their personality. If you invited them over for dinner, what would they expect from you? What would you eat and drink, how would you dress, and what would you talk about it? Before you aim for the transaction, try to enjoy that sense of connection.

More than just understanding your audience, you want them to realize that you understand them. Nothing feels better than the feeling of being well understood. You want them to see that you recognize their challenges and have a genuine interest in helping them achieve their goals.

Decisions—even purchasing decisions—are made on an emotional level. People use their frontal lobes to make lists of pros and cons. But almost inevitably, they make their decisions in the less rational regions of the brainstem. Just remember, emotions are not something to play with. When you build these kinds of emotional connections, in business and in personal life, they must come from a place of authenticity.

PRO TIP: Use the mood board

When we create brand strategies, we always develop a Brand Persona and an Audience Persona. These are like composite characters, built around archetypal features, to make our brands more relatable to the audience, and the target audience more relatable to those running the business.

Along with these personas, we also create mood boards, showcasing the image, the personality, the colors and the feelings associated with each imaginary character. When writing your copy, keep the mood board on your desk. Take a good look at your ideal client avatar, and gaze into their soul.

When you write, write to them. Single them out, address them sincerely, and they will sense it. Without an actual audience in mind, writing will fall flat, sounding bland and generic. And if you have multiple audiences, which many businesses do, then you should have a mood board for each one, maybe two or three in total. But only speak to one of them at a time.

Step 3: Know what makes you different

We’ve gotten through what many entrepreneurs consider the hard work, the soul searching, as well as the warm and fuzzy stuff, probing the psyche. Now it’s time to get down to business and start scrutinizing your competition.

You don’t necessarily need to put on your battle armor for this, unless you’re determined to take them on head-to-head. A better strategy is simply to identify and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. In doing so, you will also get a better picture of your own strengths and weaknesses.

So where does your product or service fit into that broader landscape of the marketplace? Is there something inherently different about what you offer? Or is there a distinct area in which you uniquely excel? This is your differentiator.

In some cases, you might find that all the competitors are really just offering the same thing. So you need to find another way to distinguish yourself. Develop a distinct personality through your Brand Persona or offer an exceptional Customer Experience.

Whether it’s what you have, what you do, or how you do it, this is what will make you stand out in a crowded, competitive field. And it’s something you should be reminding people of with your messaging.

Step 4: Write to express, not to impress

Finally, the time has come to put pen to paper, or more likely, fingers to keyboard. Before launching into your panegyric, you might find it useful to take a minute and reflect on steps 1, 2 and 3. Remember your foundation and be mindful of who you’re speaking to.

The number one mistake I see is when copywriters go out of their way to sound extra smart. You don’t need big words like panegyric. Yeah, sorry about that one.

Keep it real. Save the jargon for your white papers and your industry conventions.

But when it comes to getting your message across, simplicity is the key. Use words, phrases and analogies that everyone can understand. If they want to take the deep dive and study the minutiae of your products and processes, make that information available somewhere on your website. But leave it in the background.

Even on your website — especially on your website — you don’t need to go into excruciating detail. Keep the home page clear and brief, and offer the option to click through to another page for more details. And even then, don’t make it sound like an industry journal. Consider your audience.

Write like you speak. Figuring out the best way to deliver your message will take some time and practice. But if it really is your calling, then you should be getting plenty of practice. When you present your concept or idea, pay attention to yourself and to your listeners. Try new things. What gets the best response? What makes them nod and say “a-ha”?

Try recording your presentations and rewatching them. Look for what works and what doesn’t work. If and when you can, ask others to explain your message back to you. How do they put it in their own words? What are they getting right, and what are they getting wrong?

Now incorporate the best of these elements into your messaging and your brand language. And like everything with your brand, nothing is etched in stone. It’s a living thing, always evolving. So be consistent, but don’t be afraid to adjust and refine.

PRO TIP: Use your Brand Persona

Once you’ve distilled your Brand Essence, your philosophical foundation, and you’ve analyzed both your audience and your competition, you can develop a list of keywords and phrases that will help you resonate and differentiate. In the same way that classic movie characters have a certain way of talking, your Brand Persona also needs a distinct tone of voice and a few stock phrases.

When this persona is based on a solid and authentic foundation, it shouldn’t be difficult to get into character. Remember, when you or your team members assume this role, you aren’t pretending to be someone you’re not. You’re just exaggerating certain characteristics to make yourself more memorable, something like a caricature. Through consistency, always using a particular expression or turn of phrase, you can make a lasting impression.

If someone says “the dude abides” or “live long and prosper”, chances are, you immediately think of a specific movie or character. That’s effective branding. Come up with a phrase like that and use it regularly. As people develop these little associations, they start to create a space for you in their minds and in their lives.

Keep it simple and forge ahead

Ready to get started? Or curious to learn more? The Brand Strategy Workbook will give you a good starting point to answer some questions regarding your brand. And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out for a Discovery call or join our online community. It looks a bit confusing and overwhelming, but if you take it one step at a time, it all makes sense in the end. You got this! 

• Schedule a Discovery Call with Pacha
• Join our brand strategy Facebook Community: Balanced Brands
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Dive deeper and take a look at these related articles.

• An Introduction to Brand Archetypes
• Adopting Brand Personas
• Speaking with Brand Voice
• Building Company Culture
• Issues with Ethical Marketing