What does your enthusiasm sound like?
A thought experiment focused on the energy that actually moves people.
Most communication advice focuses on words — what to say, how to structure it, which framework to use. And of course words matter, but words are maybe 7% of what actually move people. The rest is tone, body language, energy. Which means it might be worth asking: what if we are neglecting one of the most crucial elements of communication?
Here’s what I keep noticing with the executives I work with: They are prepared. They are polished. They have done the work. And somewhere in all of that preparation, they have carefully, methodically edited out the thing that actually wins people over — the thing that makes people lean in and trust without quite knowing why:
Their enthusiasm. Their contagious belief in something.
Don’t believe me? Think about the last time someone made you want to believe in something. Were they carefully modulating their affect, delivering a perfectly worded script? Or were they lit up and speaking from the heart?
Here’s your thought experiment for this week:
