3-minute read.
The experimenting continues...
Today, I want to share 3 wins on your voice and how this will help your founder brand stand out and thrive.
'How do I find my voice for my brand?’ asks the wrong question. You don’t find your voice. It is already there. The real question here is, what’s stopping you from letting it come out?
Let’s dig in.
1: Fear and the #1 way to defeat it.
We are human. Therefore, we worry about what other humans think. Pick your flavour of fear:
- Being judged.
- Worried that being honest might not work out.
- Vulnerability is seen as a weakness.
- No one else has your viewpoint.
- What if I stand out?
- What if I don’t?
It may be one or all of the above. Ultimately, fear is what stops people from being themselves when they write. Now, I am sure there are many hacks to defeat fear, but without a doubt, this one is the most effective I have seen:
Make a pact with yourself to write daily.
When you write daily, you quickly stop caring what other people think. It is practice, but it is practice in public.
- You build capability.
- You build confidence.
- You decrease fear.
- You stop trying to be perfect.
- You start being you.
- Yay.
This is what I call releasing the handbrake. You let go.
“I am not here to teach you to be more like me, but to be more like you.” Anon.
2: Write like you talk.
For most people, this is terrible advice. Why? Because they have no clue what their ‘unique signature sayings’ are even though they say them multiple times a day. Plus, they have zero intention of finding out.
But it is great advice if you take the trouble to observe what your quirky little sayings are.
If I think about what makes me recognisable as a human are my sticky-up hair, my glasses, and I wear the same jacket. I also have recognisable, unique signature sayings when I talk. Your voice is made up of the odd things that you say. Or the weird way in which you say them.
Those little things make ‘you’ sound like ‘you’. They form part of your unique voice. And YET, most people don’t even know that they say them.
This exercise will change that.
To find your true voice, you must do the dumbest of things. Observe what you say. Who knew?
1. Observe it.
2. Write it down.
3. Add it to your writing.
Think of your ‘Signature Sayings’ as a bit of seasoning for your writing. Not too much. Not too little.
Why do these ‘Signature Sayings’ matter?
Taking the time to observe this amazing, weird, unique human you see in the mirror each morning helps you find your true voice.
3: Own one word.
It is busy out there. And it is getting busier. To go from unknown to known, you need clarity.
Extreme clarity.
Try this simple and hard exercise:
Triangle of Clarity.
There are 1 million distinct words. Own one.
That is clarity. That is how you go from unknown to known. This is how you cut through.
Brene – Vulnerability
Gary – Hustle
Wim – Ice
Your one word goes at the top of the triangle.
The two words at the bottom steer that word.
- Think tone.
- Think of character traits.
- Think voice.
This clarity will help you find your voice. And break through the invisible wall that takes you from unknown to known.
Let me know if this is helpful.
I am trying something different each week.
Once I find something that clicks, I will drop anchor.
Have a great week.
David
