I see this all the time. A speaker has a powerful message, but they open with data, methodology, or background context. By the time they get to the point, half the room has mentally checked out. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁. Before your audience will care about the how, they need to feel the why. They need to be emotionally enrolled in your vision — the future state you're pointing toward, the problem you're solving, the change you're advocating for. That's a right-brain exercise. Emotional. Imaginative. Compelling. The details come later. Once they're leaning in. Once they want to know how to get there. Think of it like a movie trailer. You don't open with the production budget. You open with a moment that makes people feel something. Your talk should work the same way. Lead with vision. Earn their attention. Then give them the roadmap. Do you tend to lead with logic or emotion when you speak? 😉

Disney was funding the project and kept pushing for a darker, edgier Woody. More sarcastic. More attitude. The Pixar team adjusted the script to match. When they screened it, the reaction was brutal. Woody came across as a jerk. The heart of the film was gone. Disney shut down production. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆? 𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. John Lasseter's team went back to basics. Two months rewriting. They returned to the warmer, more generous Woody they'd originally imagined. The tools stayed the same. The story changed completely. $373 million at the box office. A franchise worth billions. The most successful animation studio in history. The technology didn't change. The story did. 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. They lead with their tech. Their features. Their solution. All impressive. All carefully built. But the story wrapping it together? Weak. Generic. Forgettable. Investors don't fund technology. They fund stories they can believe in. Stories about problems worth solving, teams worth backing, and futures worth building. Your product is your animation engine. Your pitch is your script. If the story doesn't work, the tech won't save you. What's underneath the tool is what determines the outcome. Name a brilliant product you saw fail because the story wasn't there... 😉

This week we welcome new members: @Anna Tamurova @Dani Rosenblad James @Cristal Vancarson @Sammie Chaffin And I chat to @Jon Nabbs about his superman adventure running unsupported across Canada (among other adventures) and his intention to turn this into a speaking career. We talk about what is available in the community, what should our culture be? And Jon shares he is looking for someone to practice and chat with about his talk. I recommended Jon talk to @Orly Amor, and in a facepalm moment on camera, I realise I need to ask Orly to do an interview with me for the Expert Resources section... Doh! Watch the video, if you have any ideas or suggestions add them to the comments below. 😃