Matt Abrahams

That's how you draw somebody who might be reticent or not comfortable speaking.

Well, those of us who study this believe it actually has an evolutionary basis.

That when our species was hanging around in groups of about 150 people, your relative status meant everything.

And I'm not talking about who has the fancy car or who gets the most likes on social media.

It's who got access to resources, food, shelter, reproduction.

And if you did something that put your status at risk, that could be really bad news for you.

So those of us who study this believe it's ingrained in who we are.

to be very sensitive to anything that puts our status at risk.

And that can be being up in front of a big crowd or talking to my boss about an important issue.

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, what you say is really important.

If it doesn't make sense, if it's not logical, if it's confusing, that puts you in a bad light.

But similarly, how you say it, if you're confident, if you're upright, if you use a strong voice, that matters too.

So those of us who do what I do are really intent on helping people not only craft messages that are meaningful, but to deliver them in a way that can actually be connected, authentic, and engaging.

Both are important.

Right.

And I tend to agree with that.

I coach my students, the folks I work with in the corporate world, that what's really important is connection.

So if you can show that you have some value to bring,

by getting people engaged with your topic and showing that there is relevance and salience for them, that's all that really matters.