"Hi! I'm listening to one of my regular real estate podcasts, and one of the guys said his top take away from the Forward Event in Vegas was you and what you shared 😮" That's the DM that came through Instagram, from my step-cousin I haven't spoken to in probably a decade.

It started as a conversation about “thought leadership.” It turned into something sharper: a blueprint for saying something worth following.

The speakers who get booked again and again? They’re not the flashiest. They’re the clearest. The most useful. The ones who made people feel seen - and gave them something they could actually do.

Most people agree stories are powerful. So why do we default to facts, stats, and frameworks when it’s time to pitch an idea, write a post, or deliver a talk? Because it feels safer. More “professional.” Less vulnerable. And that’s exactly why people tune out.

If someone Googled you right now, would they meet the version of you that actually exists?

That’s the question that opened our recent masterclass on brand voice - and it landed hard.

Avital Eusgeld - founder of HiPitched Branding and the strategist behind some of the clearest, most human brand voice systems out there - says most of us are showing up online with a mix of “sort of me,” “past me,” and “this was a Canva template.”

In this week's article, let's figure out when and where to focus on brevity, clarity, or both.

In this week's article, we explore what a core message is, how it works, and I'll offer three creative ways to use it in your marketing, to quickly connect with prospects, collaborators, and even your own team.

You’re about to be interviewed on a podcast. You know the general topic you'll be asked about, but you have no idea what questions will be thrown your way. Oh, and you only have eight minutes. Plus, it won't be edited.

In this week's article I'm breaking down how I used our Core Messaging system to be totally prepared without any rehearsing, and delivered a knockout interview.

I’m scrolling through my feed when I see it again: another 'professional' venting about clients expecting top-quality work for pennies—or worse, for free.

“Why don’t clients value our work?!” the post reads. “It’s like they think I should be grateful for exposure! I’ve spent years perfecting my craft, and they still ask me to work for next to nothing!”

I shake my head and start to scroll by, but I just can't let it go. This problem is SO easily solved, and it starts by asking yourself a simple question:

"Is there anyone else in my market doing similar work and getting paid more?"

Last week I had the incredible honor of sitting down for a livestream Q&A with my friend Tamsen Webster to discuss her latest book, Say What They Can't Unhear.

Tamsen is the idea strategist for the legacy conference TEDxCambridge, now TEDxNewEngland. She is also the author of modern classic Find Your Red Thread, and affectionately known to us in the industry as "The Idea Whisperer."

In this article I'm recapping some of the biggest insights from our conversation about how to create lasting change.

Can we agree that "thought leadership" has lost a bit of its cache? It's also rather confusing. What IS thought leadership? I don't know, but I know all true thought leaders do three things: Make assertions, make judgments, and make predictions.

Learn how powerful branding works by pairing a core message with a core emotion. This article explores how intentional messaging creates emotional connections, using a personal anecdote to illustrate the impact of consistent, emotionally-driven communication that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.