Next level communicators work with words like carpenters work with wood.

Next level communicators work with words like carpenters work with wood.

I’ve been reading Ron Chernow’s biography on the life of Mark Twain, and while we are all familiar with his writings, I did not know how prolific of an oral communicator he was. Twain spent well over a decade traveling the world speaking to sold out auditoriums packed with people who hung on his every word. And why wouldn’t they? Mark Twain was a next level communicator who not only used humor masterfully (He was billed as a “humorist”), but crafted words and phrases like none other. It would not be an overstatement to say he was the greatest craftsman of words in his time, and easily in the top ten of all time. 

Here’s a sampling of some of Mark Twain’s famous quotes:

• A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

• Travel is fatal to prejudice.

• Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it. 

• Be good and you will be lonesome.

• Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.

Whether or not you agree with his aphorisms is beside the point. These statements (and so many more) grab us by the collar, focus our attention and resonate deeply with our experiences. What made Twain a next level communicator was his ability to identify with the human predicament and construct the perfect phrases to articulate what we are feeling. 

It’s been said the reason why music speaks to us more powerfully than words is because music is more precise than words. Mark Twain’s use of the human language is the closest anyone has ever come to turning words into musical chords. 

Want to be a next level communicator? Exhaust yourself in coming up with the right phrases. 

This is advice I wish I would have known in my early days of communication as I was more committed to understanding content and outlining and manuscripting messages. Over the years I’ve slowly come to see a common denominator to the compliments I’ve received from people who have heard me- what grabbed them was a particular truth, a turn of the phrase, that resonated with their experience and was framed in just the precise way that made them pause. 

Here’s a few examples of phrases that I’ve used to grab people, and please forgive me because they don’t rise to the level of Twain:

1. You know you are in a crisis when you have way more questions than answers.

2. Disappointment happens when your experiences fall short of your expectations.

3. The way you know you are a Christian is not that you don’t sin- we all sin- but you know you are a Christian when you struggle to sin.

4. Feelings make wonderful passengers and horrible drivers.

5. Integrity is the alignment of words with deeds.

Here are a few things to remember when you do the important work of word-smithing:

1. This should be done after you have put your message together.

2. Avoid coming up with more than 2-3 of these sticky statements. In our attempt to make our messages memorable, we try to make the whole thing memorable, then we will probably fail to make hardly anything memorable. Make sense?

3. Pick 2-3 of your most important points and then word smith around them. Ask yourself the question, “What do I want the audience to leave with? What’s the most important thing or things,” and work from there.

4. Be sure to repeat the sticky statements and pause for effect when you give them.

Two things as we wrap up:

1. Plans are in place for me to offer a masterclass on communication, along with some personalized coaching. Stay tuned for more details.

2. If you haven’t already, preorder my new book, Grace to Overcome, which is not only a devotional but one filled with stories to help you grow as a communicator. Drops August 19th.