Embracing fierceness as an entrepreneur and communicator

Fierceness. I’ve come to believe the greatest communication skill an entrepreneur needs is fierceness—a willingness to talk to anyone, at any time, about the startup they are launching. It’s not fearlessness—we all have some level of fear when talking to strangers.

Fierceness is stepping past fear to relentlessly tell others the difference you want to make
and then invite their help.

Day 1 of One Mind Accelerator. Photo credit Noelle Cwiklinski Serper.

Last week, I experienced a score of fierce entrepreneurs who are committed to disrupting how we view, treat, and fund mental health breakthroughs. I had the privilege of participating in the launch of the inaugural cohort of entrepreneurs in the One Mind Accelerator. This group of 11 startup teams inspired me with their unabashed commitment to breakthroughs in mental health awareness and, above all, treatment. From now until early May, we will work together as they craft, refine, and polish their fundraising pitches.

But it’s the activity we did to break the ice that I believe will benefit all my readers. Rather than the typical “go around the room and share your name, degree, firm, and business idea,” we used this first impression to begin building our communication toolkit. Once two or three teams shared their introductions, we paused and evaluated what worked, resonated, and inspired. The teams were able to call out specific tactics and qualities for one another that made their introductions compelling. I won’t cover the entire list of 16 but will share four insights to consider the next time you want to be fierce with your first impression.

• Share an analogy—relate the new idea to something we already know and understand. “Jaws in space” was the pitch for the film Alien. Steve Jobs used everyday objects like interoffice envelopes, number two pencils, and the tiny pocket inside our blue jeans pockets to introduce new products.

• Use vivid language—paint a picture that captures your audience. This can be the pain of the problem state, the elegance of your solution, or (ideally) both. Use smell, texture, weather, or taste to help establish the mood and moment.

• Show high contrast—compare the way things are with how they could be, which not only overcomes objections but also creates a vision of what’s possible in the future. My friend and mentor Nancy Duarte calls this a sparkline, the secret structure to great talks.

• Build rapport—connect through common experiences or goals, even with callbacks to what has already been shared. When we meet others on a personal level, we create an opening for collaboration and partnership.

It’s long been said if you want to train fleas you place them in a jar for three days. They will, at first, bounce against the sides and lid until they “know their limit.” Then you can remove the lid, and they will never fly above where they think the lid exists.

All of us, entrepreneurs or not, can benefit from being fierce in our introductions and flying “beyond the limits we think exist,” just as the One Mind Accelerator teams did.

Where can you step out and be fierce in sharing your ideas with others?
It just might change the world.

JD’s Recommendations: what I’m reading, hearing, and seeing:

• Reading: Chip Conley’s Wisdom @ Work: The Making of a Modern Elder.

• Hearing: Jayzen Patria’s interview with Amy Dubois Barnett of Bravo Mondo on Lead With Your Brand.

• Seeing: Teared up on my United flight home when I watched Let Me Be Me, a documentary about an autistic fashion designer’s journey from childhood to career. A must-see for anybody who loves a child who marches to the beat of their own drum.

I never plan to charge for this newsletter but would appreciate it if you shared it with others who would benefit.

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As always, jds

P.S. I’m delighted to announce we have secured spaces and dates for three Realize the Result one-day workshops (created by my husband Ken and me). Join us for an incredible day to help you achieve mastery in your next presentation. We’re offering this in early April in SF, late April in KC, and late May in NYC. (We chose cities you know by their acronyms!)