The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication summary

Winston Churchill once described his adversary as never knowing what to say before he spoke, never knowing what he was saying while he spoke, and never being sure of what he’d said after he’d spoken.

Churchill understood the value of preparation, and his diligent efforts made him one of the greatest speakers of all time. So before taking on a speaking engagement, do your homework. You can’t tell your audience what you don’t know.

While Bill Gates was building Microsoft, he had an idea that seemed slightly odd in the ’90s era of celebrity tech founders. He felt so strongly about the subject that he wrote an essay about it, titled “Content is King.”

His prediction, published in 1996, was simple: those who created great content would ultimately overtake the tech founders. No wonder he’s still a prolific blogger!

In the last section, you learned about the importance of great content. Now imagine carrying that great content into a Zoom call. But midway through the meeting, someone has to comfort a crying baby. Do you continue through the interruption, or pause to show concern?

That, of course, was a rhetorical question. Taking a minute to check if everything’s OK, and acknowledging the participant as an attentive carer, will build a deeper connection and make your message resonate more.

Let’s take a moment to talk about stories. Specifically, how do you tell a story that will captivate your audience and amplify your message?

It turns out there’s a simple formula to this ancient human tradition. The building blocks are your hero, their goal, a conflict, and a resolution.

To end, let’s go back to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream.” One of the greatest speeches of all time wouldn’t have happened the way you know it if King hadn’t been good at getting real-time feedback. As he spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, he felt he could do better.

As King paused, he heard gospel singer Mahalia Jackson encourage him to tell the world about the dream he’d shared before at smaller events. Picking up this feedback, King soared into a climax that changed the course of history.